Four Seasons
by EmbracingRain
Summary: The stability of Chad and Sonny's relationship begins to waver as they face major decisions, and Chad worries about what will happen if Sonny leaves him behind. Second in the Years story arc.
1. Prologue

So here it is! I know that this is a couple of weeks later than I said it would be, but college has been keeping me super busy and I'm barely keeping my head above water. Yes, there are still more _Outtakes_ to come but I decided to start posting _Four Seasons_ so those of you who are getting impatient for the continuation of _Twelve Months_ can finally see what happens next!

I have all sorts of plans for this story. Hopefully I can execute them beautifully! I'm very excited about where this story is going and I hope that you guys love this just as much as you loved _Twelve Months_.

Summary: The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you don't want in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper. The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you _will_ have in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper.

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Prologue

* * *

**March 2nd**

**11:20 a.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**Mackenzie Falls**_** Set**

**Chad's Dressing Room**

Chad smiled to himself as he perfected the messiness of his hair in his dressing room mirror. Despite the fact that Sonny repeatedly told him she didn't care whether or not he looked perfect, it just wasn't like him to go anywhere without looking his absolute best. He wasn't one to give less than one-hundred percent when it came to keeping up his appearance.

He was just brushing a miniscule piece of lint off of his shirt when the door flew open, slamming into the wall and Portlyn stalked in, twirling a piece of hair around her finger and looking at her script.

"Hey, Chad."

"Don't you _knock?_" Chad demanded loudly, glowering at his costar.

Portlyn glanced up at him and automatically wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Where do you, like, think _you're_ going?" she asked, ignoring Chad's question.

"I've got reservations at Maggiano's for lunch," Chad replied. He snatched his car keys off the table and made for the door. Portlyn followed him like a lost puppy.

"Who are you, like, going with?"

"None of your business, Portlyn," Chad said, nodding to Chloe as he passed her. She grinned brightly and gave him a thumbs up.

"Have fun, Chad!"

"Thanks."

Once Chloe was out of earshot, Chad felt a hand wrap around his arm and squeeze.

_Hard._

"Chad!" Portlyn hissed, yanking him to a stop and leering at him with eyes that glittered maliciously. "Do not - do _not_ - tell me you're, like, going out with _Slutty_ from _So Blandom!_ again!"

Chad stopped trying to pry Portlyn's fingers off of his arm and froze, staring down at her with angry blue eyes. At that moment in time he wanted so badly for Portlyn to magically turn into a guy so he could punch her. He grabbed Portlyn's wrist, wrenched her hand off of his arm and shoved her away from him as firmly as he could without being rude.

"Don't you _ever_ call her that _again_, Portlyn," he said quietly, eyes boring into hers. "Do you hear me? Sonny's my girlfriend, alright? And nothing you've said or done these past few months has done anything to make me change my mind. You need to learn to let it go." That being said, Chad turned his back on Portlyn and stormed down the hall, doing a deep breathing exercise in order to rid himself of his anger before reaching the set of _So Random!_

* * *

**March 2nd**

**11:23 a.m.**

**Undisclosed Location**

"_They have lunch reservations at Maggiano's."_

"How do you know this?"

"_Does it matter?"_

"Yes. My boss won't let me go if I don't have a reliable source of information."

"_You've got me. Isn't that enough for your stupid boss?"_

"No! Look, I need-"

"_Just get there! Okay? I don't want to hear your friggin' excuses! I know you can get there so __**do it**_."

The line went dead and he pulled the phone away from his ear with a resigned sigh. Another day, another forced attempt at sabotage. Sometimes he really hated the fact that he'd met that…person.

As he walked out the door, slinging his camera strap around his neck as he went, he pondered over this was really the right thing to do. If this was the way to further his career or if he was going to be ruining two lives in his attempts.

* * *

Okay! That was the prologue. I know you guys are probably going, "What?! That was _it?_" But don't worry! There's more to come. Hopefully I can get another chapter posted this weekend.

_Four Seasons_ will follow the same format as _Twelve Months_. Each chapter will be a new month. There's one difference: there will be four arcs and the next chapter will be the start of the first arc. We will also have a couple of interludes. I was planning on doing this for _Twelve Months_ but I would've breached the chapter maximum for Dancing on Rainbows' challenge. That's all I can really tell you right now, but I hope you're looking forward to more!

Love,

EmbracingRain


	2. Arc One: Spring: Chapter One

**Alright, you guys, here's the deal. I had to get my phone replaced recently, and as I was scanning through my **_**new**_** phone looking for all the notes I had on **_**Outtakes,**_** I realized that I didn't have any. Being the dummy that I am, I totally forgot to backup the deleted scenes from **_**Twelve Months**_**. I'll be posting a poll on my profile that I'd really like you all to take a look at. **It concerns my continuing to update _Outtakes_ along with updating _Four Seasons_ or just discontinuing _Outtakes_ and focusing only on _Four Seasons_. I'd really like if you guys participated.

This is the next chapter of _Four Seasons_, and I really hope you enjoy it! **I know that the wait between the prologue and this chapter was rather long, **but I had so many papers to write before Thanksgiving break and then five finals to study for that this story sort of got shoved to a back burner for a little bit. Ideas have been percolating for a while, though, so hopefully this chapter is fantastic.

Anyhoo… Enjoy!

* * *

**Summary: **The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you don't want in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper. The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you _will_ have in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc One

Spring

Chapter One

* * *

**The Sharona Knows Website**

Only Sharona Knows what you would never be able to guess!

_Chad Cheatin' Cooper_

Which Hollywood teen couple is about to give up on each other? Rumor has it that Chad Dylan Cooper isn't exactly the good boy he seems to be in front of the press. Sources claim that Chad was seen on a romantic lunch date with none other than his costar Portlyn, who plays a character by the same name on Cooper's hit tween drama, _Mackenzie Falls _(see pictures below)_._

He was also seen canoodling with an unknown girl from studio six at Condor Studios on a weekend trip to the Alps just last weekend. While I don't have pictures yet, I can assure you that I will soon! It's only a matter of time before this big trip is leaked to every reporter in town!

How will Sonny Munroe, Cooper's girlfriend (though apparently not the only one he has) and _So Random!_ star, take this news? Or has she known all along? Have these two been faking it for the publicity? Only time will tell!

Next up: which star of _So Random!_ wore this Melanie Carmichael dress better? Sonny Munroe or Tawni Hart?

* * *

**March 3rd**

**10:07 a.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

Sonny Munroe was not an angry or violent person by nature. She didn't punch walls, she didn't usually scream, and she didn't make threats. The worst thing she had ever done while working at _So Random!_ was throw a pillow at Tawni's face. And that had been a well-deserved pillow to the face.

But despite her forgiving nature, there was one thing Sonny wasn't going to be forgiving in the near future, and that was Tawni's habit of misinforming people. Because of Tawni's ridiculous habit, Sonny had just marched herself over to the set of _Mackenzie Falls_ and given Chad Dylan Cooper, her boyfriend of just a few short months, a nice, loud yelling at.

…

During a live interview he was doing for ABC.

…

And the cameras had caught it all.

Storming through the door to her dressing room and then slamming it shut behind herself, Sonny hollered her castmate's name, completely and utterly livid, her words and the words of Stephanie Cuthbert still ringing in her ears.

"_You're cheating on me with that FLOOZY from Studio Six?! AND PORTLYN?! I can't BELIEVE I trusted you, Chad! You know, I should've known you'd be like this. I never should've given you a chance! I can't BELIEVE I let myself fall for you!"_

Chad had looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights of a semi. Sonny had never seen him look so taken aback before. It was when his mouth dropped open and he began to deny her claims that she realized with a sinking heart that not even Chad could act so genuinely bewildered.

"_Are her claims true, Mr. Cooper?"_ Stephanie Cuthbert had asked, shoving herself between the couple and staring at Chad with wide eyes that seemed to bore straight through the blonde's head.

"_NO!"_ Chad had bellowed, more in Sonny's direction than Stephanie Cuthbert's. _"I don't even KNOW any girls from Studio Six. I didn't even know there WAS a Studio Six! And Portlyn and I haven't spoken a friendly word in two months!"_

The whole set had gone awkwardly silent. Stephanie Cuthbert had broken it by telling her audience that she would continue interviewing Chad after the break and then stood there gaping at the pair of teenagers.

After pulling Sonny aside and clearing up the matter of who she'd even heard the rumor from, Chad had reassured Sonny that she had nothing to worry about. He didn't even know where Studio Six was (truth. Sonny knew where it was and it definitely wasn't across the parking lot like Chad guessed), and Portlyn had been demoted to recurring character two months ago (also true, Sonny later found out when she caught up on a few episodes of _Mackenzie Falls_. Portlyn had absolutely no scenes with Chad's character). Chad readily accepted Sonny's apology and said he'd come visit her after he was done with his interview.

Sonny had returned to her dressing room, still smitten with her boyfriend but now livid with her friend.

"_Tawni!"_ Sonny screeched again, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot impatiently.

"I am _changing_ my _clothes_," came the blonde's response from behind the curtains of her changing room. "Can you please keep your voice down? You're disturbing me."

"No, I will _not_ keep my voice down," Sonny retorted, stomping across the room to stand by Tawni's chaise lounge. "I have _words_ for you, Tawni Hart, and you are going to _hear_ them whether you like it or not!"

A manicured hand curled around the brightly-spotted curtain hanging in the doorway to Tawni's dressing room and wrenched the piece of fabric to the side. Tawni stood there, her hands on her hips and a look of pure annoyance on her makeup-slathered face.

"Where did you hear that Chad was cheating on me, Tawni?" Sonny asked, feeling her eye start to twitch the tiniest bit as she tried to reign in her frustration and put on a relaxed face.

Tawni shrugged and scooted past the brunette to perch herself in front of her mirror. "I don't know _exactly_," she said, beginning to primp and coating her lips with a fresh layer of Cocoa Mocho Cocoa lipstick.

"How could you _not_ know?"

Snorting and flipping her hair over her shoulder, Tawni replied, "I just clicked on some link on the internet. I think it might've been like Sharona Knows or something."

"Sharona Knows," Sonny deadpanned.

"Uh-huh!" Tawni said, nodding enthusiastically. "There were pictures!"

"You heard that Chad was cheating on me by reading Sharona's website?" Sonny asked quietly, feeling more irked than ever. Obviously, Tawni hadn't learned from the Oh No You Di'nt incident.

"There were _pictures!_" Tawni said loudly. "Pictures mean proof! I was just looking out for you, Sonny. I mean, _gosh._ Diva much?"

Well, if _that_ wasn't the pot calling the kettle black…

"Pictures." Sonny arched an eyebrow.

"That's what I just _said_."

"Show me."

* * *

**March 3rd**

**10:16 a.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Outside Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

Of all the strange things Chad Dylan Cooper had seen around the set of _So Random!_ the strangest had to be this moment here in the hallway outside of Sonny's dressing room. Portlyn and Nico were giggling in a corner behind a mail cart.

_Giggling._

In a _corner!_

TOGETHER.

_BEHIND A MAIL CART!_

Chad's observation of the oblivious, odd couple was cut short a loud declaration of, "Tawni, that's _Portlyn's _head Photoshopped onto _my_ body," from Sonny's dressing room. Curious, Chad eased open the door to Sonny's side of the dressing room and poked his head inside. Tawni and Sonny were staring at a laptop on their coffee table.

"Ohh, okay. Yeah, I should've known that was actually you. There's no way Portlyn would wear that hideous dress!" Tawni said as she leaned closer to the laptop's screen. "It totally looks like something out of your closet."

"Tawni, that's _your_ dress," Sonny said with a slight smirk. "You let me borrow it, remember?"

The blonde actress leaped up from the couch with an astonished gasp. "I can't believe you would accuse me of owning such a hideous piece of clothing!" she exclaimed before storming out her door.

As soon as Tawni was completely out of the room (Chad didn't like being around her for too long. The longer he was in her vicinity the more brain cells he could feel dying slowly and painfully), Chad slipped into the dressing room through Sonny's door and flopped down next to his girlfriend on the hideously orange couch.

"Hey, gorgeous."

"Chad, how many times do I have to remind you to stop talking to your own reflection like that?" Sonny teased him before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Well, you know," Chad said with false bravado as he wrapped an arm around Sonny's shoulders, "I'm just too attractive to resist myself. What are you looking at?"

"The Sharona Knows website."

"I thought you and your Randoms hated that website."

"Oh, we do," Sonny said reassuringly. "Apparently Tawni still checks it every day, though. Check this out," she told Chad, pointing at the laptop.

"'Chad Cheatin' Cooper?'" Chad read aloud from the screen. "_This_ is where Tawni got her 'reliable information' from?" He scrolled down the page, scanning over a story about how he was purportedly cheating on Sonny with Portlyn and a girl from Studio Six and stopping at several pictures of Portlyn and himself at Maggiano's.

Actually, it was Portlyn's head on Sonny's body and himself at Maggiano's.

"Do you think Blondie realizes how stupid she is?" Chad questioned Sonny thoughtfully. "Look how big Portlyn's head is in this picture. It's like somebody put a planet over your face!"

"I'm so mad at Tawni right now," Sonny said, shutting the laptop and then snuggling into Chad's side. "Not only did she believe something that Sharona wrote, but she made me not trust you. And then I had to go and ruin your interview…"

"It was _just_ an interview, Sonny-girl. Don't worry about it so much," Chad told her, smoothing her hair. "And it wasn't even an important one."

"It was _live_, though," Sonny half-wailed. "Now everyone is gonna think that I'm a diva again and that you're a terrible person!"

Chad chuckled and smirked. "Nobody's gonna call you a diva, Sonny. Believe me. You're the one who was apparently cheated on. The paparazzi will side with you without a doubt."

"They'll still think you're a terrible person," the comedienne muttered.

"Well, I am."

"No, you aren't, Chad. Quit fishing for compliments."

Chad sighed and hugged Sonny a little tighter. "Look, Sonny-girl, whatever people say doesn't matter, right? We know the truth. And if people start asking, we'll tell them the truth. Sharona doesn't control the paparazzi, okay? We're better than all of them. Plus, you and your Randoms took down the Wicked Witch of the Web once. Then, it was just five of you. Now, you've got Chloe and me, too."

Sonny looked up at Chad with a small smile. "You really do watch _So Random!_ don't you?"

"What can I say? There's this really hot, funny girl on that show. I can't seem to get enough of her."

Sonny laughed. "You're such a dork, Chad."

"You love it, though."

"Maybe just a little," she admitted coyly before stealing a kiss.

* * *

**March 3rd**

**12:19 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

**Commissary**

Nico stared across the room, totally entranced, as he repeatedly dunked a French fry in ketchup without realizing it. He could hear Grady in the background talking about a new strategy to get Murphy out of the commissary long enough that they could drink out of the fro-yo machine without getting caught. He could see Sonny and Chad being all weird and couple-y out of the corner of his eye. He could feel Zora crawling underneath the table as she bumped into his legs. He knew Tawni was still trying to make her lunch conform to her new no calories diet by the way she kept picking through the food.

But what had him doe-eyed and oblivious of his food was the lonely-looking brunette sitting at a table for two by herself.

"Dude, are you even _listening_ to what I'm telling you right now?" Grady demanded loudly. He turned around in his seat in order to see just exactly what his best friend was gawking at. "Why are you staring at Portlyn?"

Sonny and Chad stopped flirting; Tawni stopped sorting her food; Zora's head surfaced above the tabletop; and Nico snapped out of his daze.

"I-I-I'm sorry…What?" Nico said, looking at his friend with wide, too-innocent eyes.

"You were staring at Portlyn," Grady said, sounding suspicious.

"W-well, I… Sh-she has a… Girl got a booger in her nose!" Nico blurted out, his heart racing unnaturally in his chest. "It's just hangin' there all nasty and junk." As his friends stared at him with confusion in their eyes, Nico bolted away from the table and out of the commissary. As he passed Portlyn's table, their eyes met for a split second and one corner of her mouth lifted into a small smile.

* * *

**March 3rd**

**5:04 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

**Parking Lot**

The paparazzi were waiting for them just outside the side door of Condor Studios when they left work. As soon as the door opened, cameras started flashing and Sonny's world was suddenly reduced to the grip Chad had on her hand, the flash of bright lights that burned` her eyes, and questions that were nearly screamed.

"Are the rumors true?!"

"Miss Munroe! Miss Munroe! Can you tell us how you feel right now?"

"Mr. Cooper, did you _really_ cheat on Miss Munroe?!"

"Is it true that you punched Chad during his interview with Stephanie Cuthbert, Sonny?!"

"Sharona Knows called you Chad Cheatin' Cooper, Chad! Do you have a comment on that?!"

"_We have to run,"_ Chad hissed in her ear.

Sonny tried to ask when exactly Chad planned on running since they were surrounded by a solid wall of people, but her question was cut short by a sharp tug on her hand. Then, she was stumbling clumsily after Chad toward his convertible a few hundred yards away. There was a loud thunder of running footsteps as the photographers and journalists began chasing after the escaping couple.

"Mr. Cooper!"

"Miss Munroe!"

"Get in the car!" Chad bellowed at Sonny as they split up upon reaching the shiny black convertible.

Whimpering in slight fear of getting trampled by the media, Sonny did as he told her to, opening the door and jumping into the car. Chad slammed his door shut and jammed the key into the ignition. The car came to life with a roar and the actor slammed his foot down on the gas pedal; the car lurched forward and through the pack of screaming photographers toward the road.

"They _mobbed_ us!" Sonny gasped as she struggled to jam her seatbelt into place. "I thought security around this place was supposed to be airtight!"

"The paparazzi have their ways, Sonny," Chad replied through gritted teeth. "But you're right. Condor was supposed to have upped security since they started filming that movie in studio eleven."

Sonny looked over her shoulder as Chad ignored a red light and sped through an intersection, narrowly avoiding a semi and a school bus. There was one lone photographer still giving chase, but steadily becoming smaller as Chad urged the car down the crowded Hollywood street.

"They aren't going to leave us alone, are they?" she queried. "Now that Sharona got a hold of us, I mean."

"Probably not," Chad responded, his eyes steady on the road and his hands gripping the wheel tightly. He repeatedly checked his rearview mirror as he weaved through multiple cars and avoided red lights.

"…Do you think we can handle it?" Sonny asked quietly, afraid of what Chad's answer would be.

Chad's hand reached out and his fingers laced with hers. "Yes," he said simply. He gave her a smile that was anything but reassuring and didn't quite reach his eyes.

* * *

I met my nephew last week! He's now almost three weeks old and he is absolutely _adorable!_ He has these cute little chubby cheeks and he looks almost exactly like my brother, but he has my sister-in-law's complexion. He has absolutely stolen my whole heart.

Anyhoo, **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm very sorry that I took so long in posting it,** but college is definitely sucking up all of my time. I'm taking some challenging courses next semester, but I'm off until January 11, so **I should be able to get a couple more chapters up if all goes well.**

**Don't forget to check out the poll in my profile. **I really want to know what you guys would prefer I do.

**Please don't forget to review! You guys left an incredible **_**thirty-three**_** reviews last chapter and I was absolutely blown away! **I felt so loved! So if you think this chapter is awesome, let me know. If you hated it, let me know. Any sort of feedback is fantastic! Also, I'm sorry this was kind of short. The next chapter will most likely be longer.

Love,

EmbracingRain

P.S. Did anyone get the _Sweet Home Alabama _reference?


	3. Arc One: Spring: Chapter Two

Here's the next chapter, you guys. I'd planned on uploading this sooner, but I got a serious case of writer's block and then there was some (incredibly procrastinated) Christmas shopping and then I was hanging out with some friends I haven't seen since we all went away to college in August… It's been a seriously busy few days for me. I hope you can forgive the delay. Especially since it was much shorter than the last one. C:

Enjoy!

* * *

**Summary: **The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you don't want in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper. The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you _will_ have in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper.

**Disclaimer: **Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc One

Spring

Chapter Two

* * *

**April 22nd**

**12:13 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Prop House**

The five teens were huddled around the coffee table in the crowded, cozy prop house. Spread out in front of them was a series of magazines, each splashed with pictures and headlines. Each teen had a marker and was circling small things in the pictures and discrepancies in the articles. For the past month, Sonny and Chad had been the target of the media all thanks to one article and a few terribly Photoshopped pictures on the Sharona Knows website. Both teens had been accused of infidelity, both had been branded with slanderous names, both had been the victim of surprise attacks by the paparazzi. Tawni, Nico, and Chloe had become their only allies (Tawni was still kind of unwilling, but she was steadily coming around).

Grady and Zora had tried to help, but Grady's idea of helping was telling Sonny and Chad that they should escape somewhere low-profile like Antarctica until it all blew over. As for Zora…well, her master plan included monkeys, her cold cut catapult, several hundred pounds of rice pudding, and several other things that made no sense.

This week, Chad was under attack and the five actors were trying to find anything and everything wrong with the articles and pictures that featured him.

"Wasn't this from the surprise party you threw me for my birthday? I _swear_ that's the dress I wore," Tawni queried, holding up her magazine Sonny could see the picture she was pointing at. Sonny stopped scrutinizing the page she was currently looking at to help out her friend. The small square featured Tawni (who's face was blurred out) and Chad standing outside of Sonny's barely-opened apartment door. Chad was facing Tawni and appeared to be either opening or closing the door, but Sonny could see the pink and gold decorations just inside the door.

"Yeah, that's from your party," Sonny told Tawni, returning to her own magazine. "We sent Chad out to distract you, remember?"

Nico chuckled. "Man, I remember that! I'm surprised she believed you, dude. You don't lie very well."

Sonny smirked. "Isn't _that_ the truth." She circled the number on the door of the apartment Chad was leaving (it was actually his, not the unknown girl's from studio six).

Chad frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was at a _funeral_ on New Year's Eve?"

He paused for a moment, thinking it over. "Okay, yeah. Maybe that wasn't the best lie, but I don't suck at lying! Lying is acting and I'm the best actor of our generation! How can I be a terrible liar when I'm such a friggin' fantastic actor?!"

Tawni and Chloe both groaned; Nico stared at Chad with his mouth open; Sonny just giggled and went back to work. True, Chad was egotistical. True, Chad overestimated his abilities sometimes. True, he was a jerkthrob when he was around more people than just Sonny. True, he said the wrong thing sometimes. But he was her egotistical, overconfident, wrong thing saying jerkthrob.

Chloe looked up suddenly, capped her marker, and tossed it to the table. "Why don't you guys just tell all these reporters the truth? Nobody's getting cheated on so you should just tell them."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "You think we haven't tried telling the truth?"

"See that stack of magazines over there?" Chad added, nodding over to a sloppy pile of glossy pages by the couch. "Those are from two weeks ago."

"And three weeks ago-"

"_And_ last week."

Chloe fiddled with the marker, lining it up with the top edge of her assigned magazine. "Then why not something like a press conference? You know, a situation where the stalkerazzi can ask you questions in a controlled environment."

"We've agreed that it's not that serious." Chad highlighted a sentence and turned the page.

"Ooh! I've got an idea!" Tawni exclaimed, leaping up from the floor. She picked her phone up off the table and scurried from the room. "Just give me five minutes!"

Sonny and Chad exchanged a look.

"Why do I feel like this won't end well?" she asked him.

Chad shrugged and shook his head then went back to work. Sonny frowned at him across the table. Lately, it seemed like he wasn't as concerned about this scandal as he should have been. Sometimes it felt like she was figuring things out on her own, floundering in a sea of slander, accusations, and lies. Sonny had suggested a press conference, Chad had shot her down. _"It's not that serious. It'll seem like we're overreacting to something that people have been experiencing for forever."_ She'd tried arguing her point to no avail. Chad was firm in his decision, like he was only going through the motions of telling the real story to the paparazzi just to appease her. Her frown deepened; Chad looked up at her questioningly.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied quietly.

* * *

**April 22nd**

**2:24 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

Sonny shrugged Chad's arm off her shoulder for the third time in ten minutes, scooting further away from him on the couch, hoping the sounds of the movie disguised her frustrated sigh. She could feel his eyes on her, studying her as she sat moodily on the couch, but she kept her own on the screen and pretended she was actually watching Adam Sandler put a penguin wearing a shirt in the middle of a Hawaiian road.

"What's wrong with you today, sunshine?"

Shrugging, Sonny's glanced over at the door as somebody knocked on it. "I'm just not in the mood for touchy-feely stuff today, alright?" She was up off the couch and walking over to the door before Chad spoke up again.

"Is it, you know…that week?" he asked, making a face.

"Oh, my God." Sonny wrenched open the door to her side of the dressing room. "I can't _believe _you actually just said that, Chad. Just because I'm upset doesn't mean I'm PMSing!"

"It was just a question!"

"…Is this a bad time? Because I can totally come back."

Sonny finally looked at her visitor, blinking at her own rudeness. "Chloe! Hi, come on in," she blurted out, moving aside so the _Mackenzie Falls_ actress could step into the room. Chloe hovered in the doorway, still looking unsure.

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your arg- I mean, movie."

"No, it's fine," Sonny said with a smile. "Chad was just being a guy. No worries!"

"O-kay." Chloe stepped into the colorful dressing room, looking around in interest. Dressing rooms on the set of _Mackenzie Falls_ weren't anywhere as cool as the one Sonny and Tawni shared. At _Mackenzie Falls_ you could expect a detached coolness that wasn't at all homey. Here, Chloe could see two distinct personalities on either side of the room and the place where they meshed together in the middle. She could see why Chad hung out on the _So Random!_ set more than he hung out at the _Falls_.

"So what's up?" Sonny asked as she shut the door.

Chloe shrugged, glancing between Sonny and Chad. The latter was looking at the two girls in confusion. "Not much, really. I was just wondering if I could talk to you about something."

"Well, yeah! Of course," Sonny said as she paused the movie and looked over at her new friend in concern.

Looking back at Chad and feeling more than a little awkward, Chloe pursed her lips. "I was kind of hoping it could be a private discussion," she told Sonny quietly.

"A private…?" Sonny began to shake her head, but then caught on to Chloe's meaning and laughed a little bit at her own stupidity. "Oh! Okay! Yes. Chad," she addressed her boyfriend, "you have to leave."

"What?!" he exclaimed, rising from the orange couch. "Why do I have to leave? I'm Chad Dylan Cooper! I'm _great_ with secrets. Have I ever told anyone that you talk in your sleep?"

Sonny threw her hands up in the air. "Well, now you have!"

"What? No I…" Chad's eyes shifted back over to Chloe who waved at him as though she was reminding him of her presence in the colorful room. "Oh. You know what, sunshine? Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just…" He trailed off, motioning toward the door on Tawni's side of the room.

When he had finally disappeared, Sonny turned back to Chloe. "It's not that uncommon, you know. Talking in your sleep, I mean. Approximately one-hundred seventy million adults in the world talk in their sleep," she babbled nervously.

"Oh. Um…okay."

Sonny nodded, rocking back on her heels and exhaling deeply. "So…what'd you come by to talk about?"

"Well," Chloe started. She began to pace, and Sonny watched her with a raised eyebrow. She'd never seen someone quite so nervous in a long time. "I actually came by to ask you about…about Nico."

"Nico?" Sonny repeated, confused. Normal girls rarely asked about Nico, and girls from _Mackenzie Falls_ never asked about him. "What about him?"

"I noticed he hangs out with Portlyn a lot. But it's kind of like secret hanging out. I was just wondering if you knew if they were…dating. Or something of that sort." Chloe looked up at Sonny as she sat down on the couch primly, the way she'd seen the other girls on her show do.

Sonny furrowed her brow, thinking hard about Chloe's question. "Well," she said, sitting down next to her friend and tapping her chin, "I don't think they're dating, _per se_, but I _have_ seen them hanging out. And Chad says he saw them giggling behind Josh's mail cart last month. But dating? Eh…I don't know. Nico doesn't strike me as Portlyn's type. Why do you ask?"

Chloe looked down at her hands which were fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "Well… I mean, it's nothing big. I was just curious."

Sonny let a grin slowly spread across her face. "You like him, don't you?"

"Maybe. But it's not like it matters that I like him if he's dating her. She's like the girl every guy wants. So if he has her…what's the point?"

"The _point_ is that Portlyn's the biggest snot on the face of the planet. She's got nothing on you. What you should do is put on an outfit you feel good in, maybe do something different with your hair, and just talk to Nico," Sonny suggested with a comforting smile.

Chloe smiled back. "You know," she said standing up, "Tawni told me you give really bad advice, but that's actually some of the best I've gotten. Thanks!" She scurried out of the room, and Sonny sat back on the couch with a satisfied smile. Another day, another good deed done. Maybe things would start looking up.

* * *

**April 22nd**

**2:40 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**Mackenzie Falls**_** Set**

**Hallway**

Chad had booked it out of Sonny's dressing room as fast as possible, scared of what she would do to him when she finally had the time to hunt him down and make him pay for telling Chloe that Sonny talked in her sleep. Really, he didn't see what the problem was. It wasn't a big deal that she talked in her sleep; it was actually kind of cute. But with the way she'd been acting recently, he wasn't risking anything.

He didn't know what Sonny's problem was lately. If it wasn't - ahem- _lady issues_, then it was something else. And she wasn't telling him which was what was truly bothering him. If Chad knew what Sonny's issue was, then he'd try to help her out or something, whether she had an attitude or not. It seemed like there had been a breakdown in communication between them lately, and he was having a hard time thinking it was all his fault. _Sonny_ was the one with the attitude. _Sonny_ was the one who wasn't communicating her problems. Chad was an open book!

O-P-E-N.

_Open_.

"So you got the pictures?"

Chad stopped walking, paused to make sure he'd heard Skyler correctly, and then backed up a little bit. Skyler (the actor who portrayed Mackenzie's half-brother Devon) was hiding behind a rack of clothes and talking on his cell phone. The whole situation seemed a little bit fishy to Chad. Who hid behind women's clothes and talked super quiet to someone on their phone?

"Hey, brah!"

Skyler visibly jumped and snapped his cell phone shut, whirling around to face Chad, his face as red as a stop sign. "H-hey, man."

"Who was that on the phone?" Chad asked, nodding toward Skyler's cell phone.

"O-oh! Th-that? It…it was just my mom," Skyler stammered, backing up slowly in the direction of his dressing room.

"You were talking to your mom behind a rack of the girls' uniforms?" Chad said skeptically. "That's kind of weird, dude."

"Yeah, I know. I just…didn't want anyone to know I call my mom," Skyler replied, his eyes looking anywhere but at his costar. "It's not exactly…cool, you know? Man, please don't tell the guys!"

Chad held up his hands. "Believe me, dude. I'm not telling anyone you still talk to your mommy. I wouldn't want them to know I know you."

"Well, you're one to talk!" Skyler shot back, sounding panicky. "You're the one who goes to visit yours!"

"Family functions, dude. _Totally_ different from calling your mom at work," Chad scoffed, walking away and shaking his head. He made a mental note to tell Sonny what he'd heard. If they could figure out who was tipping Sharona and the rest of the stalkerazzi off on where he and Sonny were going and what they were doing, then they could do something about it. Skyler was definitely someone who was bitter enough to send the media after Chad and his girlfriend. Chad's phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out to answer it after checking the caller I.D.

"Hey, babe."

"_Tawni wants to talk to us at three-forty," _Sonny told him, seemingly ignoring his greeting. _"She says it's really important."_

"Why three-forty?"

"_That's when we get done rehearsing our next sketch."_

"I'm filming scenes until four," Chad replied. "I can't do three-forty."

He heard Sonny sigh and repeat his message to someone (apparently Tawni) in the background. Something slammed either down or shut.

"_Well, my world doesn't revolve around your stupid, inconsiderate boyfriend!"_

"_Tawni, you don't have any plans until eight o'clock tonight. And Chad isn't stupid and inconsiderate!"_

"_Four doesn't work for me!"_

"_Oh, that's a bunch of hooey! You don't like your date enough to spend four hours getting ready! Maybe three, but __**not**__ four!"_

There was a lot of rustling and scuffling from the other end of the phone, then Sonny yelling, "Ow!" and Tawni bursting into tears.

"_Chad? You still there?"_ Sonny asked, sounding slightly breathless.

"Yeah."

"_Four works. Get here as soon as you're done filming scenes for the day, okay? Tawni's…not happy."_

"What'd you _do_ to her? It sounds like someone's killing a cat," Chad said, wrinkling his nose in disgust as Tawni's wails grew steadily louder.

"_Well, she bit me-"_

"She _bit_ you?"

"_What? Does that surprise you or something? Anyway, she bit me so I took her new tube of lipstick."_

"She's crying over lipstick?"

"_Clearly, you don't spend much time around her."_

"_Sonny-girl, we gotta go to rehearsal like right- Aw, man! Why's Tawni cryin' again? Marshall's gonna be so mad!"_ Nico exclaimed.

"_Maybe somebody should slap her!"_ Zora suggested.

"_Has anybody seen my cheese pants?"_ Grady asked. _"I wanted to wear them tonight…"_

"_Nobody's seen your stupid cheese pants, Grady,"_ Sonny told him. _"Why are you all in here anyway? This dressing room is mine and-"_

_Click._

"Sonny?" Chad asked. "Sonny, are you there?" He peeled his phone away from his ear and stared at the screen, seeing nothing but a picture of his car. Sonny had actually hung up on him! The _audacity!_

* * *

**April 22nd**

**4:03 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random! **_**Set**

**Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

"You did _what?!_" Sonny and Chad said in unison as Tawni giddily jumped up and down in front of them, clapping her hands and smiling widely.

"Well, I had to pull some strings," Tawni said impressively, but I got you an interview with Helen DeGuinness. Aren't you guys super excited?!"

"Tawni, how could you arrange that without asking us first?" Sonny asked as Chad mouthed at the female blonde wordlessly. "I mean, it's not that we don't appreciate it, but we _so_ didn't plan on going on a talk show about this whole fake cheating scandal thing. We were perfectly fine just telling the press our side of the story."

Tawni sank to the couch, deflated. "B-but it's _Helen DeGuinness_. And…and I pulled strings!" she whined, mimicking pulling on a string that appeared to be attached to the ceiling. "Plus, it's obvious that what you're doing right now isn't helping any. And when Chloe suggested a press conference, you guys shot her down."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sonny said, throwing out a hand to stop Tawni. "Chad's the one who said no to the press conference. I had no say in that matter."

"That was something we agreed on!" Chad exclaimed.

"Who? You and your reflection, Chad? Because if I recall correctly, I suggested that idea to you even _before_ Chloe did and you totally shot me down."

"Maybe I should get you guys on _Dr. Bill_, too," Tawni joked with a smile that quickly disappeared when Chad and Sonny both glared at her. "Kidding!"

Sonny thought about the interview for a minute before turning to Chad. "Look, why don't we just do it?" she asked quietly. "It can't hurt anything. And maybe people will actually listen to us for once since it's a live show and the words are actually coming from our mouths and can't be taken out of context."

Chad sighed, running a hand over his face. "What day and time?" he asked Tawni.

"Next Wednesday night at eight," Tawni said promptly. "Are you really gonna do it?"

Chad nodded slightly. "Yeah…I just gotta go move some stuff around," he said, holding up his cell phone as he left the room.

"Seriously," Tawni whispered to Sonny, "I could totally call up Dr. Bill and ask if he can talk to you two."

"Leave it alone, Tawni. We're just stressed, okay? I'm sure we'll be fine once this is over, once and for all," Sonny hissed back.

"Are you sure?" Tawni looked concerned.

Sonny glanced over at the door Chad had exited through. "Well…I hope so."

* * *

Next time there's a delay in updating, **I recommend that you read "A Long Way From Here" by Chaos Dragon. **It's an excellent read. Beautifully written, entertaining, emotional… Overall a fantastic story. And still in progress, so there's more to come!

Shameless advertisement of my own story:

I recently came up with this little five chapter Christmas piece that I think you guys might enjoy. It's still in progress and probably will continue through Christmas, but we'll just say I'm keeping the holiday spirit alive, haha. **Anyway, it's called **_**In the Spirit of the Season**_** and it's pure Chad/Sonny goodness, so head on over there and check it out!**

**Helen DeGuinness and Dr. Bill:** a parody of Ellen DeGeneres and Dr. Phil. I had fun coming up with those names (no, seriously. I had a blast!). C:

**IMPORTANT QUESTION**

It'd be really cool if you guys came up with some questions for Helen DeGuinness to ask Sonny and Chad (aside from whether or not it's true they're cheating). Or maybe some rumors for her to address. I'd love to have some reader generated content for that part of the next chapter! You guys will totally be acknowledged, too.

I hope you enjoyed this (admittedly dramatic) chapter!

Love,

EmbracingRain

P.S. Who can name the Adam Sandler movie featured in this chapter?

P.P.S. Can you guys hit sixty reviews? That'd be really awesome. And I promise not to hold chapters hostage. C: I also like getting constructive criticism in reviews, so feel free to tell me what I could've done better if you want.


	4. Arc One: Spring: Chapter Three

Wow…

So, **I know I've been forever in updating,** but lately my life has been absolutely chaotic. A couple days after I last updated on December 23, **my dad fell off a ladder **and broke his hip, also dislocating it during the fall. He had to have emergency surgery and was luckily discharged from the hospital by New Year's Eve. Since he's been hurt, **I've taken on a lot of stuff to help out my mom around the house. I also started a new semester of college **January 11 and it's turned out a lot more challenging than last semester; I'm barely keeping my head above water.

Two weeks ago, I was going through **midterm week **for college and **last week was spring break**. I was hoping to get in an update or two, but **my friends all wanted to hang out before and after I got my wisdom teeth pulled. I've also been working on a play for a contest that's going on at my college, not to mention all of the term papers I have to write!**

There have been **a lot of personal/friendship things going on **in my life, as well. Things that have made me give a good, hard look at who I can trust and who I can't. It's a difficult thing to do when you're in college and you're supposed to be at the point where you make lifelong friends. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who are in college yet remain on a middle school maturity level.

I've been so busy that I completely lost track of time and was unable to update. The one thing that's pulling me through this semester is the light at the end of the tunnel: **May 6. **Otherwise known as the day I go on summer break! I'm hoping to get a couple more chapters posted before then, but if I don't you guys can definitely count on me starting that day!

Hopefully, you can forgive me for the hideously long delay and we can all be friends again. Because you guys were so amazing with the reviews while I was gone and I've _definitely _done you all wrong by leaving you hanging. C:

* * *

**Summary: **The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you don't want in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper. The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you _will_ have in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc One

Spring

Chapter Three

* * *

**April 27th**

**7:50 pm**

**CBN Studios**

_**Helen DeGuinness**_** Set**

**Backstage**

Sonny watched as Chad listlessly fiddled with his phone, a concerned look upon her face. For the past few days, the normally pompous actor had become progressively pensive and moody - the complete opposite of how he usually was. In fact, Chad had seemed kind of _hurt_ after Sonny had agreed to come on this talk show, but she could not fathom why. She gently prodded his foot with hers, and the blonde looked up at her with a terse smile.

"What's wrong, Chad?" she asked quietly, hoping that none of the people surrounding them would hear her question.

Chad shrugged one shoulder. "Just waiting for an important call," he replied, holding up his phone.

"An important call?" Sonny repeated, bewildered. "But…we're going on to talk to Helen in like eight minutes. What's so important that - MMPH!" Sonny found that she couldn't talk as Chad pinched her lips shut and answered his rapidly ringing cell phone.

"You've got Chad," he said into the phone, animation returning to his voice as a wide smile spread across his lips. Sonny glared at him through slit eyes, waiting for the moment when he finally stopped pinching her lips shut and she could give him a good lecture. "Excellent! Thanks, man. I _knew_ you'd deliver." The actor hung up his phone and released his girlfriend's lips, standing up and patting her on the head.

"Chad!" Sonny exploded as quietly as she could (interrupting someone that would soon be trying to help show the world that Sonny and Chad's relationship was _not_ falling apart with a fight between said couple wouldn't be wise). "Do you _really_ think you can just go around shutting me up?! And then _patting me on the head?!_ I'M NOT THREE."

The star of _Mackenzie Falls_ looked at the brunette with wide eyes. "I didn't mean to be demeaning!" he defended himself, sounding flustered. "That call was just really important. I've been waiting for that guy to call me for almost two days now!"

"What was so important about it?" Sonny asked, folding her arms over her chest and tapping her foot against the plush carpet. If Chad was hiding things from her…

"It's a surprise!" Chad said, giddiness and excitement dripping from the sentence. He grinned widely at Sonny.

"What kind of surprise?" she prodded suspiciously.

"I…can't tell you," Chad whispered. He suddenly looked like a little child that had gotten into the cookie jar and was hiding the secret from his mother.

_But still,_ Sonny thought to herself as she let her suspicions fly out the window, _it's nice to see him out of that weird funk he was in for the past few days._ She studied her boyfriend for a few moments, taking in his slacks and collared shirt. He was putting more effort into this than she'd been giving him credit for. Sure, Chad hadn't wanted to do a press conference, writing it off as too serious for the situation, but allowing an interview on _Helen DeGuinness_ showed that he _did_ care. And he was probably right: a press conference was too serious for their situation. Plus, the paparazzi hadn't exactly been their friend lately.

"Okay," Sonny said, offering him a small smile. "You just haven't been yourself for the past few days."

Chad shrugged simplistically. "There was just some stuff I had to take care of before we went on the show," he replied, a bit aloof. "That was the last of it."

"Are you sure you can't tell me?" Sonny wheedled, sliding her arms around Chad's waist and blinking up at him with the saddest eyes she could possibly muster.

Chad chuckled and hugged her tightly. "Sorry, sunshine."

"I promise you that I can keep a secret," she whispered, kissing him sweetly.

"Heh…sorry, sunshine, but the surprise will be better if you don't know about it," Chad responded before kissing her back with voracity.

Sonny Munroe was _not_ a stupid, innocent girl. She knew that about half of what was behind Chad's kisses was emotion. The other half was the often addressed but rarely talked about inevitability: sex.

Chad hadn't made his past a secret. Sonny never asked for numbers - she didn't want to know - but she knew there had been plenty of girls Chad's life. He never pressured her, but she had made it perfectly clear to him that she was an emotions first kind of girl. No sex without love, no love without commitment. Here they were, about five months into their relationship and the 'l-word' hadn't even shown up once. It was difficult knowing that sex was almost always on Chad's mind while emotions were constantly on hers. Sonny was starting to wonder if Chad ever thought about ending things. He'd agreed to her conditions wholeheartedly, but she sometimes couldn't help but think his resolve would eventually slip. After all, how long could Hollywood's teen jerkthrob go along with that stipulation without cracking?

Somebody cleared their throat rather loud and Sonny pulled away from Chad's lips, feeling her face color when Chad kept his arms wrapped around her tightly and refused to let her step away. The woman who had interrupted them looked just about as embarrassed as Sonny was feeling herself.

"Yes?" Chad asked irritably. Sonny reprimanded him by swatting his arm and he grinned down at her devilishly.

"We're about to go on a commercial break, so I need you two to follow me."

Smiling as graciously as she could, Sonny maneuvered herself free of Chad's arms, straightened her clothes and fluffed her hair, then followed the woman down the hall, Chad in tow. His hand was warm and reassuring in hers, something she was grateful for now that nothing was distracting her from the looming interview.

The stage lights weren't too bright, the audience welcomed them with frenzied applause, and Helen greeted each teen with a warm hug. Sonny's small fear that Tawni had been trying to play a prank by booking the show vanished as the comedienne took all of this into account.

"Don't worry about anything," Helen said as someone new affixed miniscule microphones to Sonny and Chad's shirts. "The interview is going to go exactly as we discussed over the phone. A small discussion about the pictures and articles, then we'll go on to some fan questions. Feel free to get as personal as you want. This is _your_ interview, not mine."

Sonny relaxed into the couch as Chad's arm curled around her shoulders. For the first time since Sharona's article had shown up, she actually felt like things were going to be okay. This was one of the most respected talk shows on TV. If this interview didn't fix things then Sonny and Chad would have to figure something else out.

_This _has_ to work,_ Sonny thought to herself.

"Ready?" Helen asked with a slightly excited smile as technicians and makeup artists scurried from the stage. The audience perked up in their seats.

"Aaa-and we're live! In five…four…three…two…!"

The lights surrounding the stage adjusted slightly and Helen DeGuinness turned toward the camera with a generic smile, one that could have graced any television personality's face. The audience erupted into raucous applause.

"Welcome back, everyone," the blonde hostess said, "we're here now with two _very_ prominent teen celebrities. You've probably seen them in magazines and all over TV these past few months. We're here today to discuss some rumors surrounding their relationship; rumors that have been causing quite a stir. These are two of Condor Studios' hottest teen stars: Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny Munroe."

Sonny smiled brightly and waved at the audience and camera as Chad nodded coolly, most likely trying to keep up his appearance. The faces of the audience members were nothing but a vague blur to the actress, but she thought she felt a positive vibe coming from the seats.

"Welcome to the show, guys," Helen said, turning to the pair of actors.

"It's great to be here," Sonny and Chad intoned in unison, earning a chuckle from the audience and their host.

"So, the majority of 'Channy' fans around the world are in an uproar about these rumors. Is there anything you'd like to say? Perhaps some reassuring words?"

Chad leaned forward, looked intensely at Helen, and said quite seriously: "Neither Sonny nor I have been cheating."

"Nor have we even _thought_ about it," Sonny added, equally as serious. "We've been trying to get to the source of these rumors for months now and the farthest we've been able to trace it is back to the Sharona Knows website. My cast and I have dealt with Sharona before and the site seems like a likely source."

"The thing is," Chad chimed in, "we can't figure out where she's been getting her pictures and stories."

"It seemed pretty obvious to me that they were mostly Photoshopped," Helen joked as a series of photos flickered onto the giant screen behind them, a picture with Portlyn's planet of a head placed over Sonny's being the most prominent.

Sonny allowed herself a small giggle and Chad smiled down at her in amusement.

"From what I've heard about you two and from what I've seen," Helen pressed on, smirking at the young pair's connection, "you're just not _that type_ of couple. Young Hollywood has to be tricky enough to navigate as it is. Cheating just… It seems like an outrageous accusation."

"We feel like it is," Chad replied.

"Naturally you've got a solid support system, right?"

Sonny nodded, seeing the camera swing to focus on her out of the corner of her eye. "Our families and friends have definitely been a huge help. I honestly don't know what I would do without them some days."

"Now…One of our viewers - BlueEyesxx - has been wondering how your friends have helped. And I've got to say that I'm kind of curious as well. Because from what I've heard there's been a pretty serious rift between your two shows for a couple of years now."

Sonny and Chad exchanged a knowing look and Chad cleared his throat in a slightly embarrassed manner.

"Sonny's friends have kinda become my friends," he admitted slowly. "They're really great people and very willing to help. Last week all of us sat down with my costar Chloe and we went through the tabloids and pictures to find imperfections."

"They've been a major help," Sonny added. "I don't think we could've gotten through all of those magazines and pictures without them. We are _so_ grateful."

"Words can't express how…lucky we are to have friends like them," Chad said sounding a bit uncomfortable.

"And that's a lot coming from Chad," Sonny snorted, elbowing Chad in the ribs and grinning at him widely.

"It really is," he agreed good-naturedly, causing the audience to laugh.

"Well, seeing as how we're somewhat on the topic of those fixed pictures," Helen said, "how would you like to help us out with those? I'm sure you'd like nothing more than to correct at least _part_ of the wrong that's been done to you."

Sonny and Chad readily agreed. After all, it had been a part of the agreement. The pictures were familiar, pulled from the magazines and articles the group of actors had looked over the previous week. Together, Sonny and Chad pointed out the many flaws, including the ones in the picture from Tawni's surprise birthday party. The whole situation was filled with comfort and ease. The audience laughed when Sonny and Chad laughed, and it seemed as though everyone was filled with the same amount of incredulity. Was it really possible that this whole problem had stemmed from one measly article on some horrid woman's website? How had it spun out of control so fast?

The half-hour the young couple had on the show was beginning to wind down when Helen DeGuinness plucked a couple of index cards from the coffee table that sat in the center of the half moon-shaped couch after a brief commercial break and some reassuring words. It was viewer question time no doubt.

"As you've probably guessed by now," Helen announced, settling back into her seat as she spoke, "we've moved on to the viewer question portion of the interview. I only have a couple for you two today because we've got a bit of a surprise planned…" The interviewer's eyes flickered to Chad who squeezed Sonny's hand and smiled when she looked up at him questioningly. "The first question is from Shealtiel in Australia. Shealtiel wants to know whether or not your relationship has helped to mend the rift between _So Random!_ and _Mackenzie Falls_."

Sonny motioned for Chad to take the question when he glanced at her, choosing instead to ponder over what this mystery surprise was and whether or not it had to do with Chad's last minute phone call before the interview.

"That's actually an interesting question," Chad said diplomatically. "I think it's hard to give a completely accurate answer because it'll be biased no matter how you look at it. I said before that Sonny's friends have sorta become my friends, and they have in a sense. If you're going to be in a committed relationship with someone, you can't go ragging on about their friends all the time. You have to learn to be open-minded. Before Sonny and I started dating, I would've never hung out with Grady and Nico. But being with Sunshine has helped me become more accepting." Chad smiled sheepishly when the audience acknowledged his use of Sonny's nickname with wolf-whistles and cat calls.

Sonny smirked absently as she continued thinking about the surprise. Maybe they were bringing on her castmates? Or maybe they were going to get the opportunity to give away a car to someone needy!

"I don't think that my costars have been very willing to accept Sonny's," Chad continued, "but Chloe's been a good friend to all of us. I think she's more of a _Random_ at heart than she is a member of the _Falls_. But thanks to her and Sonny's friends, the transition has been a lot easier than it otherwise would've been, and I don't think things are as tense between our shows as they used to be."

"I LOVE YOUUU, CHAD DYLAN COOPERRR!!" a girl in the audience screamed suddenly, her voice piercing across the room. "MARRY MEEE!!"

Laughter rippled through the air and Chad grinned, holding up his hands innocently as he exclaimed, "Sorry, but I've got my girl!"

Sonny felt herself turn an exceedingly bright shade of crimson, a color that must have clashed nicely with her clover colored dress.

"Our second question," Helen said after she stopped laughing, "is from two viewers, actually. XJamesBondX and cookie-cutter-rockstar both want to know how the two of you got together in the first place."

"Well, Helen," Sonny said, extending her hand to reveal the sparkling charm bracelet that never left her wrist, "Chad has this way of _charming_ a girl into submission."

"Can we get a close-up of this?" Helen asked her camera man, pointing to Sonny's bracelet as Chad babbled something about Sonny having a thing for 'the bad boy type' and thus being unable to resist him. "These are absolutely magnificent! How many of these are there?"

"Twelve," Chad responded promptly.

"One for each month Chad spent trying to win me over," Sonny finished. "I had to give in eventually or I would've run out of links."

"Now, does each one have a story, or what? Oh, look! It's Wisconsin. That one's fairly obvious, but what about…this guy here?" Helen queried, pointing to the parrot charm.

"Chad has a great aunt who has this parrot named Merle. He got us in a bit of trouble when we were at Chad's parents' house for a picnic last year."

"And the laughing bone? What's up with him?"

"Because Sonny's funny," Chad said, shrugging.

It was at that precise moment, in the middle of the conversation, that hundreds of yellow and orange balloons suddenly rained down from the ceiling and startled Sonny. As balloons poured down, Sonny gaped openly at Chad who was smiling so wide it looked like he might actually pull a muscle. Sonny's confusion only continued to rise when a cake was wheeled onstage.

"What on _Earth_ is going on?" she breathed.

"Happy five months, sunshine," Chad told her.

What was he talking about five months? What was so significant about five months that… And that was when it hit her. They'd been together five months today and she'd forgotten while Chad had remembered. That was why he'd been in a funk for the past few days! That was why he'd had that phone call before the interview! He'd cancelled plans with her and had done this instead.

Giggles bubbled up out of Sonny's throat and she threw herself into Chad's arms with a smile so wide that it rivaled his. "I can't believe you did all of this!" she whispered loudly in his ear (the cheering was loud but easily drowned out).

"I know you were probably expecting something for next month," Chad confessed, "but I thought five months was just as significant considering what's been going on lately. I had a whole night planned, but when we agreed to come on the show I had to change my plan of action. The cake is your favorite, you know. Chocolate and vanilla swirl-"

"Chad Dylan Cooper, you are the _most _adorable boyfriend," Sonny declared before she kissed him.

* * *

**May 6th**

**4:17 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**Mackenzie Falls**_** Set**

**Portlyn's Dressing Room**

Nico sighed as he paced Portlyn's empty dressing room, the one she now had to share with the other girls cast as recurring characters. She'd told him to pick her up here almost twenty minutes ago, the only time she could get out of the studio with him without people seeing. It was always on the sly with Portlyn; she could never be up front and open with their relationship (a fact she constantly made clear to him). And now she was late for their outing (she could never call it a date). Portlyn had left him a note that said she was in a meeting with the writers of _Mackenzie Falls_ and he could use her laptop until she got back. The later it got, the less interesting waiting for Portlyn got and the more Nico was drawn to the WiFi connection.

With a sigh, Nico pulled a chair up to the little table Portlyn's bright pink laptop was perched on and opened it up. Her email was open on the screen and Nico was just about to minimize it in favor of a game of solitaire or pinball when the subject and sender caught his eye. After a quick scan, Nico's heart plummeted. He stood up from his seat abruptly, glancing repeatedly from the screen of Portlyn's laptop to the door, almost completely at a loss for what to do.

"Well, I…I can't just _stand_ here," he muttered to himself frantically. "I gotta…print! I can print it." Running a hand over his hair, Nico hit the print button on the screen then waited impatiently for the printer to spit out the email. His heart was hammering in his throat and the bland room was starting to spin when he finally got to close the laptop, fold up the lonely piece of paper, and escape the room.

Still worried that somebody (namely Portlyn) would catch him, Nico sprinted back to the _So Random!_ prop house where he knew Sonny, Chad, Grady, and Chloe were hanging out between Chad's scenes. He stumbled into the room short of breath and thrust the email into a very bewildered Chad's hands.

"What is this?"

"I found it on Portlyn's email," Nico explained. "I thought you and Sonny-girl might wanna see it."

Raising and eyebrow, Chad flipped open the paper.

"'Port,'" Sonny read aloud over Chad's shoulder, "'thanks for the great tip offs about Sonny and Chad. You'll be seeing your cut of the profits by the end of the week. I'm looking forward to your next tip. _Sharona?!_"

"This was on Portlyn's email?" Chad exclaimed.

"Yes," Nico said assertively. "I was over there and she said I could use her computer while she was in a meetin' with the writers of yo show-"

"Portlyn's not in a meeting," Chloe said, confusion written across her face, "she went out with Skyler."

Somehow, Nico wasn't surprised, but still… She was out with Skyler DeVane? Nico looked over at Chloe in uncertainty.

"I overheard them talking," she said with a sympathetic smile. "I'm really sorry, Nico."

"Portlyn can't be the one behind this," Sonny insisted as she stared, unblinking, at the paper in Chad's hand.

"The email's addressed to her," Chloe refuted.

"Chad _heard_ Skyler on the phone with someone. He was asking if they'd gotten the pictures."

"He said he was talking to his mom, but I didn't really believe him. I mean, c'mon! Nobody at the _Falls_ calls their parents on set."

"I do," Chloe said.

"You're different," Chad told her.

"There's always the chance that Portlyn and Skyler are _both_ in cahoots with Sharona," Grady suggested. He didn't glance up from his comic book as he spoke. "They're both kind of sketchtastic."

"Sketch…tastic?" Chad questioned.

"Yeah. Untrustworthy, screwy…all that good stuff."

"We need to take this to Marshall," Sonny decided. "He'll take it to Mr. Condor."

"And what're ya gonna tell Marshall? That I was readin' somethin' I shouldn't've been?" Nico said.

"No, Sonny's right," Chloe said, shaking her head. "Nothing's more important to Mr. Condor than image, Nico. If someone's been messing with the image of his studio, then _something_ is going to happen to that _someone_. Portlyn made her choices and she has to deal with the consequences." She stepped forward and slipped her hand into his shyly. "It's the right thing to do in the end, Nico. It'll help Sonny and Chad, and we're all gonna be here on your side."

* * *

**May 14th **

**10:47 p.m.**

**Baldwin Apartments**

**Chad's Apartment**

**Living Room**

Sonny sighed in contentment as she listened to Chad's heart thrum steadily in his chest. For the past week, peaceful moments had suddenly become abundant. Thanks to Nico's discovery, the mysterious informant had been found. When presented with the evidence, Portlyn confessed to both Marshall and Mr. Condor with a stony face. Her only motive had been petty jealousy and she had been using Nico in order to get most of the information she had passed on to Sharona.

Mr. Condor had been absolutely _livid_. Portlyn had sat in his office for two hours as he ranted and yelled about her actions destroying the images of two of his most important actors before he fired her. The brunette had emerged from the office with her head held high despite the fact that she was now out of a job.

Surprisingly enough, Skyler had been proven completely innocent to the whole matter. He honestly _had_ been talking to his mother on the phone like he had told Chad. And although he had been seeing Portlyn, he was blind to the fact that Nico was as well.

"_I may not _like_ you _Randoms_,"_ he'd told Nico, shaking the comedian's hand, _"but I'm a decent guy. She had us both and I think we're better off without her."_

It was true that the paparazzi had gone a bit wild for a few days after finding out who had been behind the whole affair, but things eventually died down.

…When Grady wore a cheese patterned suit to a club opening.

_That_ had opened up a whole new can of worms, but one that caused much less of an uproar.

"Looks like we did it, sunshine," Chad said, turning off the television and tossing the remote to his modern, glass and chrome coffee table. He sounded as tired as Sonny felt. The past few months had certainly taken their toll on the couple. "We took down Sharona, had our first big publicity upset, got interviewed by Helen DeGuinness, _and_ got Portlyn written off the _Falls_. All within the first five months of our relationship." He paused then shifted to look her dead in the eye. "Are you as scared as I am about what the next five months are gonna do to us?"

"You see us together another five months?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"You _don't?_"

"Of course I do! I just…didn't know if you ever thought ahead that far," she confessed, staring down at her lap as though her pants were much more interesting than the conversation.

"Sonny, if I wasn't with you for the long haul, I wouldn't be putting in the effort. You wouldn't be the first person I called in the morning and the last person I called at night. I wouldn't have stayed with you past the first week if I didn't see this going somewhere."

"Cheesy," Sonny said with a teasing smile.

"But true," Chad retorted quickly. "Look, sunshine, I know we haven't been able to concentrate on our relationship very much since we started dating, but our problems are over with now. We're about to take a break from filming for a few months…we're gonna have a lot of time to focus on _us_. And I know I'm no expert at long term relationships, but I think we're doing well for a couple of teen celebs that were just accosted by the media!"

Sonny chuckled and smiled at him brightly. For a jerkthrob, Chad sure knew how to make everything feel alright. He had definitely changed over the past year and a half, something she hadn't really be expecting given who he'd been since before their paths crossed.

"I think we're doing fantastically," she agreed whole-heartedly.

"The question is," Chad said pensively, tapping a finger against his chin, "how am I going to top our five month anniversary?"

"I don't want to do anything for our six month," Sonny blurted out.

Chad looked taken aback. "Why not?"

"Why celebrate one day when every day is special?"

"So…you want to celebrate _every_ day? 'Cause I'm not made of money, Sonny."

Sonny rolled her eyes at Chad's lame attempt at a joke. "Every day _is_ a celebration, you dork. When one year rolls around…_then_ we'll celebrate."

* * *

While I got a lot of suggestions for Helen's questions, these were the ones I chose to use in the story:

How did you get together in the first place? - **cookie-cutter-rockstar; XJamesBondX**

So, the majority of 'Channy' fans around the world are in an uproar. Is there anything you'd like to say to those fans? Perhaps some reassuring words on the subject? - **DrowningxInxSapphire**

How have your friends helped? - **BlueEyesxx**

Did you two getting together mend the rumored rift between your shows? - **Shealtiel**

**Once again, thank you guys _so_ much for all your support over these past few months! You guys are definitely the most epic, kick ass reviewers I could possibly ask for! While I'm making no promises about when I'll update next, I know the time span won't be as long as this one.**

I love hearing your speculations on the story, so drop me a line and tell me what you thought about the chapter and/or what you think will happen next. And I will for sure try to reply to all of your reviews since I've been unable to thus far.

I'm pretty stoked for Arc Two: Summer, because there's going to be a lot of interesting things happening in Sonny and Chad's individual lives, and things could get a little…off kilter for them. Again.

Love,

EmbracingRain


	5. Interlude One: Goodbyes

I'm not going to bother you guys with a super long note this time. However, you should know that, although I'm done with school, I'm heading into a pretty busy summer. The rest of May should be pretty easy going, but I'm heading to Texas in June to visit my brother and sister-in-law (and to babysit my beautiful nephew!) for a few weeks, Pennsylvania for a couple days in July, and work and friends the rest of the time. Luckily, the trips I'm taking _do_ allow time for me to write, so I _will_ be cranking out new chapters for ya'll.

I hope you enjoy this interlude (a break between arcs that doesn't really contribute to the main story but offers some insights as to what will come). I had a blast writing it and I'm hoping it will leave you with questions.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Summary: **The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you don't want in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper. The cast of _Mackenzie Falls_ and the paparazzi: two things you _will_ have in your relationship when you're dating Chad Dylan Cooper

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Interlude One

Goodbyes

* * *

**Zora**

Textbooks of varying colors and sizes were packed into a bright red backpack, a schedule of advance classes was written neatly in a planner. Zora smiled to herself as she wedged her cold cut catapult and a _Gassie_ lunchbox into the bag as well, officially overstuffing it to the point where it was almost unable to zip. Her friends (especially Tawni and Grady) all thought she was crazy for spending her summer at an advanced academics camp, but Zora had a thirst for knowledge that refused to be quenched and the program was allowing her to skip a couple of grades. If she played her cards right, she wouldn't have to go back to class with Miss Bitterman when filming for next season started up. And that was something the pint-sized genius was looking forward to. _Immensely_.

Looking around to make sure she hadn't forgot to pack anything, Zora then headed for the door, waving to Sonny and Chad on her way out of the prop house.

"Bye, guys!" Zora called, edging closer to the door. She was well aware of the fact that Sonny was a hugger and she didn't want to risk missing her flight out of California just because of a hug.

"Aw. Bye, Zora," Sonny replied with a bright smile. "Have fun!"

"How will she possibly have fun?" Chad asked, not looking away from the TV (a promotion for the _Mackenzie Falls_ season finale was on. Of course he wasn't looking away). "She's spending her summer _learning_. That's just…" The drama king trailed off but shuddered theatrically to make his point.

Sonny's smile faltered and Zora rolled her eyes.

"You might benefit from a few college courses, Chad," Zora suggested.

He snorted. "Nope. Huh-uh! I done _did_ my learnin', wee one."

"And apparently your grammar teacher was stellar."

"She might be right, Chad," Sonny put in. "I'm taking a few online once I finish Bitterman's courses in the fall."

"Let me explain something to you, Sunshine," Chad began condescendingly. "_My_ face and _college_ do not mix. I'm too handsome for it."

There was a long, uncomfortable pause during which Sonny and Zora both gaped at Chad in obvious disbelief. Zora had read about people saying education was for ugly people, she'd seen it on TV, but never had she actually witnessed it being said in real life. For a while, it had seemed like the saying was just a myth.

"You are unbelievable!" Sonny finally exclaimed and Chad looked at her, bewildered. "Education is _not_ for ugly people, Chad Dylan Cooper! It's for people who…"

Zora didn't hear the rest of Sonny's lecture as she had quickly sprinted out of the room as fast as her bulging backpack would allow her; she didn't want to be around for the impending argument. Passing Tawni as she exited the prop house, Zora called out a goodbye over her shoulder and the blonde replied distractedly but in kind. She stopped by the commissary on her way out of the studio, knowing Grady and Nico would be there eyeing the new, pretty cashier.

"Hey, Zora," Nico said as said girl sat down at the table he and Grady had claimed. "Gettin' ready to leave?"

"Yup," Zora said with a pleased grin. "Three months with my fellow S.T.A.R.S… Can't get better than that."

"We're your fellow stars," Grady reasoned. "You're not spending three months with us."

"S-T-A-R-S," Zora spelled aloud. "It stands for 'Students That Are Really Smart.'"

"Yeah…" Nico said with a raised eyebrow. "You have fun with that."

"I will. Are you two _still_ watching that Shelly girl?"

"We're not watching her!" Grady exclaimed.

"It's called observin'," Nico said with a hushed voice. "Now keep yo voice down!"

"Either way, it's really creepy. You should just talk to her. I guarantee you she'd be more interested in one of you. Maybe," Zora said pragmatically before leaving the commissary with her heavy backpack, excited for her break from filming. The prospects this summer camp opened up were enticing and very nearly once-in-a-lifetime. And maybe she'd make some friends who understood her mad genius.

* * *

**Grady**

"Okay, then…then who gets GI John for the summer?" Grady demanded, holding the action figure under Nico's nose.

"I don't know, man," Nico said, sidestepping his friend and continuing to pack random things he'd brought to the studio from his apartment. Several unwashed shirts and a couple of dog-eared comic books found their way into the duffle bag in Nico's hand.

"Doesn't it matter to you where GI John spends his summer?"

"Dude, it's an _action figure_," Nico said. "Quit actin' like we got shared custody of it. We ain't a divorced couple!"

"I can't believe you aren't taking his feelings into account!"

"Grady, man, I don't have time for this. I gotta get back to my apartment and finish packin' so I don't miss my flight."

Grady watched as Nico sped around their shared dressing room, gathering his things. Truth be told, Grady had been trying to pick fights with everyone this week to make saying goodbye easier. Tawni had been the easiest. All he'd had to do was tell her that her dress made her look fat and she'd freaked. Zora didn't care enough to argue. She was more concerned with her summer camp that saying goodbye to her friends was in the furthest recesses of her mind. Sonny was the most difficult. In fact, she had seen his goal straightaway and told him that she wouldn't be arguing with him. It was hard to pick a fight with Sonny. She was always so perky and chill. Maybe Grady would have to start taking pointers from Chad. He somehow always managed to tick her off temporarily.

"Fine," he pouted. "Fine, you go off and have your fancy adventure trying to revamp your one man show. Me and GI John'll just…sit at home and listen to my brother rag on me all summer."

"Would ya quit tryin' to pick fights with everyone? It's only a few months," Nico said, zipping up his bag. "And it's not like we won't talk. You're bein' more dramatic than Chad." He shook his head and scoffed.

Grady gasped overdramatically. "You take that back!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at his best friend and dropping GI John to the floor.

"Exhibit A," Nico said. "Look, have a good break and ignore your brother. I'm gonna be late for my flight if I don't leave now. I'll talk to you later man." And with that, he was gone.

Grady sighed and flopped down on the couch after picking his action figure up off the floor. "Well, John," he said forlornly. "Looks like it's you, me, and my _brother_. You ready for that?…Yeah, me either."

* * *

**Nico**

"Hey, Nico."

Said teen looked around at the sound of his name, finding nobody near him until he looked down at the curb. Chloe was sitting on the pavement by herself, cell phone in hand. She was actually kind of cute, Nico thought as he sat down next to her. Chloe wasn't like the other _Mackenzie Falls_ girls, she actually had a personality and she was genuine. Which was more than he could say for Portlyn.

"Hey, Chloe. What's up?"

"Just waiting for my mom. She's taking me home."

"Where's home?"

"Denver."

"You're a Colorado girl," Nico said with a smile. "Very nice."

Chloe's cheeks turned a bit pink. "Thanks," she said, fiddling self-consciously with the bow in her hair. "What about you? What are you doing for the next few months?"

"I'm tryin' to breathe new life into my one man show. Goin' back to my comedic roots. I kinda figured that now that I've got some sort of celebrity what with bein' on _So Random!_ maybe it'll do better. Hope I'm right," Nico replied, laughing half-heartedly.

"I bet it'll be great," Chloe said with a reassuring smile.

"Y'know," Nico said slowly as an idea dawned on him, "I'm gonna be in Denver with the show for a weekend. Maybe I could get ya a ticket. I mean, only if ya wanted to see it…" He let the sentence trail off into oblivion uncertainly and Chloe's face lit up.

"I'd love that!"

"Really? You'd wanna go?"

"Absolutely," she said. "If you have time, maybe we could hang out or something, too."

Nico stared at the girl next to him in disbelief for a few seconds before realizing that she was now looking at him in a highly embarrassed way. "That'd be great," he said quickly, just as a sleek, silver SUV pulled up to the curb.

"Okay! Um…I guess…text me?" Chloe asked as she stood up and shouldered her purse.

Nico followed suit. "Definitely. I will _definitely_ be in touch."

"Alright. Well…bye, Nico," she said before getting into the lingering SUV with an awkwardly adorable wave.

"Chloe, huh?" a male voice said, and Nico felt someone clap him on his back. He looked around to see Devon standing there with an approving look on his face. "Nice, dude."

"She's cool…right?" Nico asked, unwilling for a repeat performance of a girl like Portlyn.

"_Much_ better than Portlyn, if that's what you were thinking. I mean, you might be a little geeky for her but y'know. To each his own, I guess."

* * *

**Tawni**

"Guess where I'm going!" Tawni shrieked as she burst into the dressing room she so unwillingly shared with Sonny.

Sonny glanced up from her magazine with an unenthused look that her blonde costar conveniently missed. "Gee, Tawni, I don't know."

"Morocco with Kyle, my _Teen Gladiator_ hunk," Tawni gushed, sinking onto her chaise lounge with a lovesick sigh. Visions of her boyfriend's glorious muscles glistening with water from the ocean swam through her head. "We're going to Casablanca, Sonny."

"Really? I mean, you guys just got back together a week ago," Sonny said, setting her magazine aside to focus on her semi-friend. "Are you sure you're ready to go on a trip to a different country with him?"

"I _love_ him, Sonny!" Tawni insisted. "How dare you question that! We're going to be like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in _Casablanca_. It's going to be so romantic!"

"You _do_ know what happens in the end of that movie, right?" Sonny queried with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, they don't get a happy ending. He ships her off to Lisbon with her husband and he's stuck with his friend. Not to mention the fact that Ingrid Bergman almost shoots Humphrey Bogart… Their relationship just had 'disaster' written all over it from the beginning."

Tawni "humph-"ed and stood up from her chair with a toss of her hair before stomping over to the door. "You always ruin _everything_, Sonny! I hope you have a terrible, terrible time in Wisconsin!" she exclaimed as she stormed out of the room.

* * *

**Chad and Sonny**

"I can't believe you're spending your entire break from shooting _Mackenzie Falls_ in Italy and Florida. We're not gonna see each other for, like, three months."

"It's not like I'm going on vacation, Sunshine," Chad said, pressing a kiss to the top of Sonny's head as he added another shirt to the suitcase that was sitting next to her on his bed. "I'm working."

"On a movie," Sonny said gloomily. She began to refold the clothing in Chad's suitcase. His haphazard way of packing really bothered her. He was one of those secretly messy people who always had an immaculate apartment on the surface, but when you looked in his drawers and cabinets…talk about a disaster of epic proportions!

"I'll be back before you know it. And it's not like you're not going anywhere."

"I'm going to Wisconsin, Chad," Sonny said flatly. "That's like spending three months in a box compared to Italy."

"You get to see your brother and your nephew, though. And your sister-in-law. You can go shopping with her and Lucy or something," Chad said with a shrug before disappearing into his walk-in closet.

Sonny sat there on his bed, picking at a thread on one of the t-shirts Chad had tossed into his suitcase. Her boyfriend was going out of the country to film a movie with three drop-dead-gorgeous girls and it didn't even seem like he'd miss her one bit. Of course, given the fact that he was _Chad_ and sometimes he just didn't think about stuff that until it was staring him down, Sonny wasn't really surprised.

"It's just…" Sonny began when Chad finally emerged from his closet with more clothes and began packing them. "I'm gonna miss you," she admitted, keeping her eyes on the shirt in her hands.

"Oh, Sunshine," Chad said quietly, prying the article of clothing from her hands gently. "I'll miss you, too, babe."

Sonny snorted. "Please. You're going to Italy with the Boobie Triplets. You won't be thinking about me."

"The Boobie Triplets?" Chad repeated, amused by Sonny's rare showing of jealousy and immaturity. He moved the suitcase off his bed and sat down next to Sonny.

"What?" Sonny asked defensively. "They're always walking around with their boobs hanging out. It's a logical nickname."

Chad shook his head, choosing to ignore the comment in favor of solving the problem before him. "Of course I'm gonna miss you, Sonny. Those girls don't make me laugh. They're not as amazing as you. I can't be just Chad around them, y'know? I have to be Chad Dylan Cooper. You're smart and beautiful and funny; you'd better believe I'm gonna miss you." He was veering into dangerously cheesy territory and he knew it, but he also knew that nine times out of ten cheesy speeches made Sonny laugh.

This, however, was the one time where Sonny didn't laugh or even smile. Instead, she flopped back on the bed with a large sigh and muttered, "I'm being stupid," to the ceiling.

"Everyone's allowed an insecure moment or two in a relationship," Chad reasoned. "Especially after what we just experienced."

Sonny finally smiled. "I don't deserve you."

"Yeah," he replied with a slight laugh dripping with sarcasm. "You deserve better."

He felt like it was true. Of all the girls in Hollywood, Sonny Munroe was probably the only one who didn't deserve to put up with his ego and his pompous attitude. Most days, he honestly didn't understand how she liked him.

"Don't be so down on yourself, Chad. You're a much better person and boyfriend than you give yourself credit for," Sonny said. "As long as you trust yourself, I trust you."

* * *

And that's the end of Interlude One! I've already started working on the next chapter which introduces Arc Two, the next main storyline in this story. I'm _very_ excited for the introduction of a new character who should be bringing an interesting twist to the plot. It is a character we've never seen before, though they _were_ mentioned in _Twelve Months_. I'd love to hear your guesses!

As always, reviews are much appreciated. I adore hearing from all of you and will definitely be making more of an effort to reply to reviews now that I'm done with college for the summer. Questions, suggestions, requests, constructive criticism, praise…I love any kind of review but the flame-y kind. Those ones are the ones I just point and laugh at.

Love,

EmbracingRain


	6. Arc Two: Summer: Chapter Four

Hey, everyone!

Arc Two is exciting for me. I'm absolutely _stoked_ (a word that I only use when I'm off-the-wall-excited about something) for the introduction of a new, very prominent character and the chance to reintroduce three characters from _Twelve Months_. This chapter focuses mostly on Chad and Sonny (as a story about them should) as they prepare to leave for their separate destinations during their break from filming. It also brings about a new summary because - hey! A new storyline calls for an updated summary!

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter; I certainly enjoyed producing it for you. C:

* * *

**Summary: **A break from filming scatters the friends across the globe. This temporary change brings about new relationship challenges for Sonny and Chad. And things get personal when somebody from the past returns unexpectedly.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc Two

Summer

Chapter Four

* * *

**June 3rd**

**12:14 p.m.**

**Hollywood Apartments**

**Sonny's Apartment**

**Sonny's Bedroom**

Sonny groaned in frustration as another round of looking for her favorite pair of jeans turned out fruitless. She had been looking for that specific pair of pants for three hours now, and each search combined had given her a grand total of three tubes of ChapStick, a battered and dog eared copy of _Nightlight_, several scripts, and a feather boa. Staring around her upturned room, Sonny shook her head. There was no way she was going to Wisconsin without those jeans. They were her lucky jeans, her _favorite_ jeans! Perfectly broken in, those jeans fit her no matter what. They were basically her traveling pants. Except she wasn't sharing them with three other girls.

"Maybe if I clean up a little, they'll show up," the comedienne muttered to herself, standing up and beginning to tidy her room. It was worth a shot. After all, finding a pair of pants after completely turning her room upside down was probably an impossible feat.

She was halfway through setting things right when the front door slammed and footsteps resounded throughout the apartment.

"Mom?" Sonny called. "Is that you? Have you seen my pants? I can't find them anywhere!"

When her mother didn't respond, Sonny exited her room and walked down the short hallway to the living room, concerned. It wasn't like Connie to not reply to her daughter.

"Mom, are you-?" Sonny stopped short when she found her mother standing by the couch with a basket of freshly laundered clothes and an utterly livid look on her face. "What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell me, young lady?" Connie said, pulling a T-shirt from the top of the basket of clothes and displaying it to her daughter.

"What's the big deal?" Sonny questioned lightly. "That's just a shirt, Mom. Pretty much everyone has one. I have one, you have one, Chad has one…" She punctuated the sentence with a joyful chuckle.

"Oh, really?" her mom said with a twinge of sarcasm. "Chad has one? Or did you take it?"

"What are you talking about?" Sonny said, looking from her mom to the plain, white T-shirt and back again. Never before when talking to her mom had she been so confused.

Clearing her throat and making a show of examining the tag of the shirt, Connie read aloud, "C.D.C."

Sonny felt her face turn beet red not only because of the fact that her boyfriend apparently still put his name (or his initials, at least) on the tags of his clothing (how old was he? Three?), but because of what her mother seemed to be implying. Mortification flooded the actress' body and she fought back the urge to scream and run from the apartment.

"Would you care to explain why I found your boyfriend's shirt in _your_ laundry, Alison Munroe?"

Laughing nervously, Sonny playfully socked her mother's shoulder. "Heh… Mother… Mom… Mommy dearest…"

"Alison," Connie said warningly.

"It's not what you're thinking!" Sonny blurted out, suddenly in a hurry to get out any and every part of the explanation she could. "Honest! I was helping Chad pack for his trip to Italy the other day and when he wasn't looking, I just sorta…borrowed it."

"You borrowed it."

"Yeah," Sonny said, tugging the shirt from her mom's vice-like grip and hugging it to her chest. "I don't get to see him for three months, Mom," she continued softly. "I just wanted to keep him close by. It's a comfort thing. Like a security blanket. You can't tell me you never borrowed something from one of your boyfriends."

"You borrowed his _shirt_?"

"Well, hey, at least it's not a pair of his boxers, right?" Sonny joked, immediately growing somber at the look on Connie's face. "Too soon for jokes, isn't it? Yeah… Kinda figured."

"Do we need to have a talk, Sonny?" Connie asked worriedly and Sonny felt all the color drain from her face. "If you and Chad are-"

"NO!" Sonny bellowed, slowly backing away from her mom. "No talks! Chad and I are _not_ having sex!"

"If we need to talk, we should," Connie persisted. "If he's pressuring you into things you're not comfortable with, then you need to tell me. I know how boys like Chad can be and-"

"What does that even _mean_?" Sonny exclaimed incredulously. "'Boys like Chad'? I'm nineteen, Mom. And Chad's a _great_ guy. We are adults. Why should it matter what we are or aren't doing?"

"Well, call me crazy," Connie retorted, "but didn't you used to complain about how he never cared about the girls he dated and how he went around breaking hearts like it was going out of style? I'm your mother, Sonny. Do you think I want you to get hurt like those other girls?"

"Mom," Sonny said slowly and insistently, folding her arms over her chest, "listen to me. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. And Chad's changed. You know him. You like him, for gosh sake!"

"At some point, you'll realize I have every right to be concerned."

"And at some point, _you'll_ realize that you can't protect me from everything and that you can't be involved in my relationship!" Sonny spat, retreating to the safety of her room. Chad's shirt was still clenched in her fist, and she traded her own for it in an attempt to comfort herself. The older she got, the harder it was to live with her mom. Independence wasn't an easy thing to maintain when your mother insisted on being overprotective of you all the time.

Barricaded in her room, Sonny went back to cleaning up the disaster she'd inadvertently created while looking for her jeans. Tidying things up always helped take her mind off of negative things for some reason. Unfortunately, the process didn't seem to be working this time. Sonny found herself sinking further into a rut of depression as she replayed the argument in her mind. While small arguments were common between the two Munroe girls, Sonny had never actually yelled at her mom or gotten that defensive before. Part of her was ashamed, but a more prominent part was screaming at her that it was about time she finally started acting like the adult she was instead of allowing her mom to baby her.

Part of growing up was proving to your parents that you weren't their baby anymore. At least, that's what Drew always told her. And Sonny had seen her older brother fight quite a few fights with their mom as he got older.

Her cleaning ritual was interrupted once more when her phone started mooing. After hanging up a shirt, Sonny retrieved her phone from where it was sitting on her bed and answered it with a sullen, "Hello." There were a few seconds of silence, and then Chad said:

"What's wrong, sunshine?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Sonny countered, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Look, I just got in the elevator in your building, so if you don't tell me now, I'm just gonna ask you when I see you," Chad said pragmatically. "And I know for a fact that you hate it when I keep asking and asking and asking…"

"Why are you in my building?" Sonny asked. "We didn't have plans today."

"I thought I'd stop by with lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Yeah," Chad laughed. "It's past twelve-thirty. Thought you might be hungry."

"Chad, I don't know if it's such a good idea if you come over here right now," Sonny told him apprehensively. "I just-"

"Well, it's too late to tell me that. I'm already at your door. Are you gonna let me in or what?"

Sonny heard someone knocking on the front door, the sound muffled by the rooms and closed door between it and Sonny's room. She was about to roll off her bed and go answer the door when she heard footsteps and the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, Mrs. Munroe," Chad said and Sonny felt her heart plummet. She dashed out of her room and into the family room once more, hanging up her phone as she went. Connie was standing at the open door facing Chad who was smiling at her brightly. "Where are you off to?" he asked.

"I offered to watch the Johansson triplets overnight," Sonny heard her mother reply coldly. Apparently the argument had gotten to her more than she let on. "Sonny's packing." That being said, Connie shouldered her purse and exited the apartment after letting Chad in. She slammed the door behind her as she left.

Sonny and Chad stared at each other across the short distance that was separating them. Not knowing what to say, Sonny merely shrugged one shoulder and stared at her feet.

"What up with your mom?" Chad asked lightly, sitting down on the couch and opening the paper bag in his hands. He extracted two burgers and some fries and beckoned Sonny over before she actually caved and joined him.

"We got in a fight," Sonny told him quietly.

"About what? And, on a side note, isn't that my shirt?"

"Yeah, I…borrowed it," Sonny muttered. She took a bite of her burger to avoid explaining the argument. Unfortunately, Chad seemed more interested in the fight than the fact that Sonny had taken his shirt and inquired another time. Sonny sighed and bit into a fry before responding. "My mom found your shirt in my laundry basket when she washed clothes today. I think she wanted to have a calm, rational discussion but I didn't… Things haven't been exactly what I'd call easygoing lately."

"Are you fighting a lot?" Chad asked, studying his girlfriend as he chewed his burger. "'Cuz that doesn't seem like you and your mom."

Sonny shrugged. "I don't feel like I'm getting the freedom I need," she explained. "I guess that might be the major source of contention."

"So…you guys fought about my shirt?" Chad asked. He was amused despite the gravity of the conversation.

"It wasn't _just_ your shirt, Chad," Sonny told him, her voice tinged with annoyance. "It was mostly to do with our relationship." She saw him freeze out of the corner of her eye.

"What? She doesn't like me now or something?"

"Not really." Pausing for a moment in order to find the best wording possible, Sonny began to pick the seeds off her hamburger bun. "It's more like…she wants to know more about our relationship than I'm willing to tell her. She seems to think I'm incapable of taking care of myself."

There was a brief pause, and then Chad said uncertainly, "Do you think I should talk to her?"

"Absolutely not," Sonny replied quickly. "I think that might only serve to exacerbate the situation."

"Exacerbate?" Chad asked with a smirk.

"Grady and Nico got me Word of the Day toilet paper as a joke," Sonny explained. The change in topic brought lightness back to her heart and she felt a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"There's that smile," Chad said cheerfully.

Sonny laughed. "Shut up and finish your burger so you can help me pack."

"Who says I wanna help you pack?"

"It's the least you could do after I helped you."

"Helped as in rearranged my suitcases so I couldn't find anything," Chad shot back.

* * *

**June 3rd**

**1:01 p.m.**

**Hollywood Apartments**

**Sonny's Apartment**

**Sonny's Room**

"Holy God!" Chad exclaimed when he walked into Sonny's room. "What the hell happened in here?" Clothes had been flung clear across the room, shoes were strewn across the floor, books were haphazardly scattered across various surfaces… It was definitely a reasonable question.

"You think this is bad?" Sonny said as she picked up a pair of shoes. "You should've seen it before you called."

"What did you _do_?" Chad asked, picking his way across the floor. Avoiding stepping on something was nearly impossible.

"I can't find my pants."

Chad watched as his girlfriend puttered around her room, helping whenever he could. He'd never seen Sonny's room such a disaster before. For someone who was normally so put together and organized, she sure knew how to make a mess. "Which pair of pants are you looking for?" he asked.

"My lucky pair," Sonny replied before diving under her bed in pursuit of a shoe.

"Oh-h. Right. Your lucky pants that have never gotten _me_ lucky," Chad joked.

"Very funny, Chad Dylan," came Sonny's sarcastic response from under the bed. "I'm being serious. I never go anywhere without those jeans."

"What's so special about them?" Chad queried, relaxing into the pillows on the bed. Damn, her bed was soft!

"They're my lucky jeans!" Sonny told him, resurfacing from under the bed with the shoe she'd been after. "I accidentally dropped a rib on them, so there's a barbecue sauce stain on the left thigh. And there's an ink stain on the crotch from when I accidentally dropped a pen that exploded. I fell and ripped a hole in the right knee…"

"They don't sound lucky," Chad said with a raised eyebrow. "They sound kinda disgusting. Not to mention just a little on the _un_lucky side."

"Good things happen when I wear those pants," Sonny said as she finished putting her shoes back in her closet.

"So would these pants look anything like the ones you're wearing?" Chad asked, taking note of the hole in the right knee of her jeans, then watched in pure joy as Sonny looked at her jeans, confusion etched across her pretty face.

"Oh-h," she murmured as realization dawned on her. "_That_ explains it."

"So what all are you taking with you?" Chad asked, poking nosily through Sonny's suitcase. Girly colors assaulted his eyesight and feminine fabrics slipped through his fingers.

"Hands outta there, Cooper!" Sonny barked, slapping Chad's hand out of the bag.

"Are you taking my shirt?" Chad asked, wiggling an eyebrow at her.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Sonny said as her face flushed a deep crimson color.

"It's okay if you are," Chad said nonchalantly. "I'm not judging you. Although you do look pretty sexy in it." Sonny made a face at him in response, tucking a shirt and a skirt into the luggage. "C'mere, you," Chad wheedled, reaching for her.

"Chad," Sonny whined. "I hafta pack for my trip." But she allowed Chad to pull her onto the bed anyway. "I leave in two days and I've barely started."

"You can finish later." Chad trailed a fingertip down her neck to trace her collar bone. Sonny sighed and closed her eyes, involuntarily leaning into his touch. "Right now," he continued, "we need to fix the fact that I haven't kissed you in three days…"

Kissing Chad was always and interesting and intoxicating experience. One time, Sonny would be flying, the next she would be drowning in a sea of bliss. And she always felt her senses were more alert when Chad kissed her. He would whisper her name between kisses so softly she was positive she'd be unable to hear it otherwise. His touch gave her goosebumps and caused chills to race up her spine.

"Sunshine…"

Like that.

Packing for her trip to Wisconsin traveled to the furthest, darkest recesses of Sonny's mind as Chad's hands slid up her shirt, bunching the fabric. Sonny sighed and rolled onto her back, pulling Chad on top of her as she went. His lips left hers and traveled to where her pulse was beating erratically in her throat. He growled as Sonny fisted her fingers in his hair.

"I told you good things happen when I wear these pants," Sonny told Chad breathlessly.

"Good things," Chad repeated quietly, gripping her thigh to hook her leg around his hips. Sonny moaned as his fingers began to wander.

* * *

**June 4th**

**12:09 a.m.**

**Hollywood Apartments**

**Sonny's Apartment**

**Living Room**

Sonny smiled at Chad as they lingered in the doorway. "I'll see you tomorrow," she promised quietly, fixing his hair so it didn't stick up in the back.

"Your mom isn't coming back tonight. She told me she's watching some kids overnight," Chad responded. He pulled her closer, breathing in her perfume and knowing he was slowly losing his willpower to stop when Sonny told him to. She'd been driving him crazy today tugging his hair, moaning his name… But she'd been telling him for months now that he wasn't getting any further if they weren't in love, leaving Chad with quite a lot to think about.

Chad had never been in love before, so he didn't know what it felt like. He knew he liked Sonny, cared about her deeply even. He'd do anything for her (he knew because he'd actually sat down and thought about it between scenes one day). But love…that wasn't something Chad was willing to mess around with. Maybe he could Google it or something to figure out if he actually _was_ in love.

"What does my mom have to do with anything?" Sonny said, tilting her head curiously.

"I could stay over… If you want."

"No, Chad."

"We don't have to do anything."

"No-o, but you'd want to."

Chad gaped at her incredulously. "Of course I'd _want_ to! That doesn't mean we _have_ to."

"How about we don't push ourselves," Sonny suggested. She leaned up to kiss Chad, but he stepped away. "Where are you going?"

Chad shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. "I don't have as much willpower as you seem to think I have, sunshine."

"Chad-"

He kissed her cheek before walking backwards toward the elevator. "I'll call you tomorrow when I get to Florida."

"I thought I was taking you to the airport!"

"You have packing to do," Chad said, shrugging and then pressing the down button.

"Chad!"

"Night, babe."

Sonny watched as he stepped into the elevator and waved at her before vanishing behind the closing doors. Letting out a frustrated scream, Sonny slammed her front door shut then flopped down on the couch, blinking unseeingly at the ceiling. There was nothing like a disagreement with your boyfriend before you spent three months apart. No matter how much she cared about Chad, he was still one of the most disagreeable people she knew.

"Not to mention touchy," she grumbled to the empty room.

* * *

**June 4th**

**9:27 a.m.**

**Casablanca, Morocco**

**Majestic Waters Resort**

**Tawni's Hotel Room**

**Balcony**

"What do you _want_, Sonny?" Tawni snapped as she softly closed the sliding door. She looked back over her shoulder at Kyle, her _Teen Gladiator_ hunk. He was sprawled across the bed on his back, snoring with his mouth wide open. Gross.

"I think Chad and I got in a fight."

"So?"

"So I don't know what to do, Tawni! Help me!"

Tawni wrinkled her nose. "Why should I care if you got in a fight with Chad? You guys are _always_ fighting, Sonny. It's not like it's some big deal."

"You know guys _way_ better than I do, Tawni. _Please_."

Tawni sighed and sat primly down on one of the deck chairs. "Ugh! Fine. But you owe me. I was asleep. Your stupid phone call almost woke up Kyle."

"Thanks."

There was a brief pause where Sonny didn't say anything so Tawni rolled her eyes and gave in. "What was the fight about?"

"I'm not even sure it _was_ a fight," Sonny said apprehensively.

"If it wasn't a fight and if you didn't think it was serious, you wouldn't be calling me. Now spill!"

"…Sex," the brunette said meekly and Tawni burst into raucous laughter. "Kind of."

"Kind of?" Tawni asked through her giggles.

"He asked to stay over."

Gasping, Tawni lurched out of her chair and placed a hand over her heart. "Are you serious? No. WAY. You're freaking kidding me!"

"Um…no."

"Sonny, this is _huge_. I mean, like, eighties hair huge! He asked to stay over. He's ready to take the next step. It's _sooo_ obvious."

"What?"

"Sex! Do I have to spell it out for you? Are you really _that_ slow?"

"Tawni-"

"S-E-X! SEX!" Tawni bellowed, earning appalled glares from an elderly couple passing by. "Oh, like you haven't done it," she scoffed at them.

"We haven't," Sonny said.

"No, not you! I was… Wait. Did you say that you and _Chad_ haven't had sex? Oh. My. GOD. Grady owes me my fifty bucks back!"

"You guys took bets on when Chad and I would…EW!"

"Oh, come on!" Tawni snorted. "It's a reasonable bet. Chad's a manslut and you're…well…you. We were all intrigued. Even Zora."

"You let Zora take the bet?" Sonny's voice was incredulous.

"Oh, quit being a prude," Tawni commanded, taking off her sunglasses and tossing them to the small glass table between the deck chairs. "Why haven't you slept with him? I hear he's good." She could practically hear Sonny squirming uncomfortably on the other end of the line.

"I said we couldn't until we were in love."

_Well, there goes my theory_, Tawni thought. "But he asked to stay over?" she questioned.

"Yeah. He said we didn't have to do anything and then he said something about not having the willpower to…well, not."

"Oh, jeez." Tawni sat back down on her abandoned chair. "Do you realize what you're putting this poor guy through?" she asked, hardly able to believe she was actually feeling sympathy for _Chad_. It was a disgusting, creepy feeling and she didn't care for it one bit. "Not only does he want you in every way, but he also has to figure out if he loves you. And I don't think Chad has ever been in love before. His mind is probably a screwed up mess!"

"What are you trying to say?" Sonny asked harshly. "Because I have my beliefs about this relationship. It's like you said, Chad's a slut."

"So you're afraid that if you sleep with him he's gonna leave you?"

"He's done it before!"

"Yeah, but to other girls. Not you. As much as I don't like him, Sonny, Chad's been with you for, like, almost seven months. Let him figure out his feelings, but cut him a break every now and then. I don't think he's going anywhere."

The door slid open and Kyle stepped out onto the deck, securing the bed sheet around his waist. He squinted sleepily into the sunshine and ruffled the back his dark brown hair as he scratched his head. Tawni smiled, glad to have him back in her life. Convincing him to get back together with her hadn't been easy, but the turmoil had been more than worth it.

"Sonny, I have to go."

"What? Tawni, I still need your help!"

"Talk to you later!" Tawni chirped into the phone. She hung up on a loudly protesting Sonny then pushed Kyle back into the room. "Who said you could get out of bed?" she purred.

* * *

**June 5th**

**5:20 p.m.**

**Wisconsin**

**Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House**

Sonny smiled and thanked the cab driver. He tipped his ball cap at her then drove away, leaving Sonny on the curb outside of her brother's house. The front door flew open and Chelsea Munroe dashed down the front steps, the arm that _wasn't_ full of her ten-month-old baby reaching out for her sister-in-law.

"You're here!"

"Hey, Chels!" Sonny said cheerfully, hugging the older girl and dropping a kiss on Tristan's head. "Hi, beautiful boy."

"Did you have a good flight?" Chelsea asked, picking up the smaller of Sonny's two bags and heading back toward the house. Sonny trailed after her.

"It was alright. A little cramped, but worth it in the end."

Chelsea laughed. "I'm glad you're finally here. It's been entirely too long since we last saw you. Drew's not off work yet, but he should be soon. I don't wanna abandon you or anything, but it's time for Tristan to eat dinner. Do you wanna go unpack?"

"Sure," Sonny said with a cordial smile. But in the back of her mind, she wasn't entirely focused on what was going on.

Chad had never called to tell her he'd gotten to Florida yesterday.

* * *

You know what sucks? When your best guy friend cheats on his girlfriend with you. That's what sucks. Especially when he's dating the exact kind of girl he told you he can't stand. But sometimes, that situation gives you just the right fuel and inspires you to write some of your best work. Thanks to my guy-who-shall-not-be-named, outside of ffn, I am in a writing frenzy! I might even bring that inspiration over to the _SWAC_ fandom and start up another story. 'Might' being the key word.

**Anyway, I've got a little competition for you guys in honor of my fifth anniversary on the site.**

**Here it is…**

In the first section, there is a reference to a book series, a band, and a 80s film. One reference is right smack dab in the front of your face, the second is somewhat harder to find (though not much), and the third is difficult unless you know your 80s movies.** Find these three references or be the first to guess at _least_ two of the three and you get to write a line that I must include in the next chapter. **Here are some hints:

**Book Series**

_Hint One:_ the author of this series has the initials of _B_ and _A_. And not necessarily in that order.

_Hint Two:_ there are four books in this series.

_Hint Three:_ there are two accompanying movies.

**Band**

_Hint One:_ formed in Villa Park, Illinois.

_Hint Two:_ they have been signed to three different labels thus far.

_Hint Three:_ lost to Daughtry at the American Music Awards in the category for Best New Artist in 2007.

**Movie**

_Hint One:_ it was directed by Frank Perry.

_Hint Two:_ Faye Dunaway stars as Joan Crawford.

_Hint Three:_ the reference is the line directly after Mrs. Munroe calls Sonny Alison for the first time.

Go ahead and Google the answers or whatever. It's not like I'll know! Like I said, **finding these three references (or being the first to find _at least_ two of the three) will earn you the chance to write a line for the next chapter that I _have_ to include.**

As always, reviews are much appreciated! Can you guys try hitting one-hundred? I promise I won't hold the next chapter hostage if you don't.

Love,

EmbracingRain


	7. Arc Two: Summer: Chapter Five

Hey, everyone!

Here's the next chapter! **I am absolutely excited for you guys to read this one**. As I was plotting the chapter out, I just felt like this was the way to go. Everything felt right.** Before this chapter I wasn't completely sure if **_**Four Seasons**_** was heading in the direction I wanted it to go in, **but now that I have this written, I'm sure that my plans for the story are going the way they were meant to.

The plot for this chapter basically wrote itself, and my outline for it was filled to the brim with dialogue and banter. **This chapter is big on drama but also has some awkward and funny moments - moments that I enjoyed writing so much I can't even begin to explain. **Andrew and Chelsea stole my heart; they're minor characters that I feel have the potential to become so much more if given the chance. **Andrew is a take off of my own brother, as most of you know, and Chelsea is based on my brother's fiancée, so those characters have a special place in my heart.**

**Never before have I enjoyed writing a chapter more, and I hope my enthusiasm shows.**

* * *

**Summary: **A break from filming scatters the friends across the globe. This temporary change brings about new relationship challenges for Sonny and Chad. And things get personal when somebody from the past returns unexpectedly.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

**Fair Warning:** I am trying to keep this story as realistic as possible while still trying to keep it cannon. Therefore, there is mention of alcohol, some language, and a brief discussion about sex. All in all a very PG-13 chapter. So if you find any of this offensive, I apologize in advance. However, I will _not_ apologize for making the characters realistic instead of completely Disney-fied.

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc Two

Summer

Chapter Five

* * *

**July 11th**

**7:37 a.m.**

**Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House**

**Kitchen**

Sonny watched on as her brother simultaneously scarfed down a German doughnut from the batch Chelsea had made the night before and holstered his gun. "You're going to work already?" she asked.

"Yep. I'm hoping working double shifts for a while'll encourage Sherriff O' Callahan to promote me to captain sooner," Drew said. He paused briefly before tacking on, "Or at least get him to take me off the night shift so I don't miss time with Tristan. Ain't that right, bud?" He picked the baby boy up out his high chair and planted a kiss on top of his head.

"Des!" Tristan exclaimed affirmatively, offering his parents a bright smile. He patted his dad affectionately on the cheek before reaching out for Chelsea.

"Alright, I'm out," Drew said, kissing his wife goodbye and waving to the baby. "Bye, bud!"

"Hi!"

"No. Say, 'bye,'" Drew corrected.

"Hi!"

"Hey, you teach this kid how to say goodbye today, or else," Drew instructed Sonny mock-threateningly.

"Aye-aye, Captain."

"It's officer. 'Aye-aye, Officer…' Sadly." Shaking his head, Drew said goodbye one last time before leaving the house.

Chelsea strapped Tristan back into his highchair, saying, "He's going to work himself to death," as she did so. "He's working the day and night shifts now, and I think he'd work the graveyard shift, too, if O' Callahan didn't make him come home to sleep. Want some coffee?"

Sonny wrinkled her nose. "No, thanks." She took a pastry from the plate of _fastnachts_ on the counter and smiled. Grandma had done right by passing the recipe on to Chelsea. Childhood memories of Grandma's house came rushing back to the actress as she savored the doughy food. Sonny knew that part of Chelsea's culinary skills had come from being on her own from an early age. She'd developed a talent in the kitchen in her quest to keep from starving.

"Can I ask you a question, Chelsea?"

"Absolutely." Chelsea popped the lid off a jar of baby food and dug a tiny spoon out of the utensil drawer. Tristan squealed with delight.

"Why did you decide to live on your own?"

Chelsea seemed to ponder the question for a minute as she spooned pureed blueberries into Tristan's mouth. "Well," she said finally, "in the end, it turned out to be a lot of stuff. My parents had gotten completely overpowering and my sister Eavan was a self-absorbed nuisance. There was a lot of conflict with all of us, mostly because I'm not like the three of them. I felt like it was time, and it was." She looked up at Sonny with serious, knowing blue eyes, absentmindedly wiping food off of Tristan's chin. "Why do you ask?"

Sonny sighed and sat down at the table, furrowing her brow as she thought about what she wanted to say. "My mom and I have been fighting a lot recently. Almost on a weekly basis."

"I find that a little hard to believe," Chelsea responded skeptically. "You and Connie have always gotten along great."

"We _were_. I don't know what happened, though. It's like all of a sudden everything causes conflict between us. And things got really bad when she found Chad's shirt in my laundry."

"Why was-?"

"It's a comfort thing," Sonny interrupted. "Because he's so far away and we won't see each other again 'til the end of August."

"I get that. I took a pair of your brother's jeans one time when I was pregnant and he was out of town with his friend Masterson one week."

"His jeans?"

"It was a weird pregnancy," Chelsea said, dismissing the issue with a wave of her hand. "Back to you not getting along with Connie."

Sonny watched her nephew ooze half of his spoonful of food out of his mouth as she spoke her next words. "I don't feel like I have the freedom I need anymore."

"Adulthood," Chelsea said sagely with a smile.

"Sometimes I feel like things would be better between my mom and me if I moved out," Sonny mumbled. She felt somewhat ashamed for thinking that, but it was the truth.

"Exactly how far have you thought this through?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where are you going to live? Obviously the money thing isn't an issue now that you're over eighteen and have full access to everything you've earned working on the show. I mean, your mom can't legally keep it from you. But where are you going to live? On your own? With roommates?"

Sonny blinked, dumbfounded, as reality smacked her right between the eyes. "I…don't know."

"Then let's think about it. Obviously roommates make rent cheaper, so why not go through your options there? What about Chad?"

Sonny snorted indelicately. "I don't think so."

"Why not? He _is_ your boyfriend. You've been together, what, six months and you've known each other even longer than that."

"I'll tell you why not. He's secretly messy, we've only been dating six months, and we don't even say we love each other! I can't move in with Chad. Right now."

"So don't."

"But you just told me to."

"And you said you're not ready. Next option: ask Tawni."

Sonny's only response for a moment was nothing but hysterical laughter. "Good one," she finally got out.

"Okay… You could move in with Zora."

"Zora's a minor still. Not to mention, I think she spends a lot of nights sleeping in the studio vents. Or in the sarcophagus in the prop house…"

"Then what about Grady? Or Nico?"

"It'd be a good idea if they weren't already living together. They mentioned something about looking for a roommate one time, but I don't know if we could live together. It might be weird."

"Why?"

"They're not very good with girls."

"Then maybe living with you would help them out a bit," Chelsea said pragmatically.

Sonny shrugged. "I'll consider it, but I don't know if it'd work out."

"It seems to me that your best bet if you do decide to move out is getting your own place or asking Nico and Grady if you can live with them. Just make sure you think it through and that you make the best choice fore you. Don't let anyone else make it for you."

"Thanks, Chels," Sonny said, hugging her sister-in-law.

"No problem." Chelsea returned Sonny's hug with a gentle squeeze. "But…why'd you ask me and not your brother? He seems like the more logical choice."

Sonny chuckled. "Drew's advice is never rational and rarely good. Plus, he didn't move out 'til Mom and I left for California. You're basically the complete opposite."

Chelsea smiled, but it quickly faded away when she glanced at the clock on the stove and leapt out of her chair. "Oh, shoot!" She ditched the spoon and now-empty jar in the sink. "I'm gonna be late for work if I don't leave now! You know the drill with the baby, right? Okay. Any problems, just call me or your brother. I'll see you when I get home tonight, alright? Bye!"

Sonny turned to her nephew as the door slammed shut. "Well, bud, looks like it's just you and me, doesn't it?"

Tristan giggled, slapping his hands on the plastic tray attached to his chair. "Des!"

"Are we gonna have some fun today?"

"Des!"

"You're only saying that 'cuz you don't know how to say the word no yet."

* * *

**July 11th**

**1:53 p.m.**

**Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House**

**Family Room**

Sonny was passed out on the couch in the middle of what she felt was a well deserved nap, the baby monitor threatening to fall out of her lax grip, when the doorbell rang. She promptly fell off the couch, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Groaning and rubbing the arm she'd landed on, Sonny shuffled over to the front door and opened it.

"Drew and Chelsea aren't home," she said with a yawn. "If you come back later, they'll…be…" Sonny trailed off, staring blankly at the blonde haired, blue eyed actor standing on the doorstep.

"Hey there, sunshine."

And, just like that, ire flooded Sonny's veins. She launched herself at Chad, not to hug or kiss him, but to pummel every part of him she could reach.

"You bastard! I haven't heard from you in over a _month_! What the hell makes you think you can show up here unannounced and unexpected?"

"Ow!" Chad said loudly, grabbing her hands to restrain her when she accidentally clocked him upside the head with the baby monitor.

"Sorry," Sonny said, not feeling very sorry at all. She glowered at him, waiting for an explanation.

"I lost my phone at the beach," Chad told her. She could feel his eyes searching hers and deliberately looked away, wanting to stay mad at him as long as possible. "I sent you emails… I tried every line of internet communication possible and you never answered. So don't try to give me this pissed off princess act, Sonny."

"I don't have my laptop with me. What are you even doing here?" she bit out, finally meeting his gaze. His eyes burned into hers.

"I've got a week off before we head to Italy to film the last few scenes. Most of everyone else is heading over there early, but I figured I'd come see you. We didn't exactly have the happiest goodbye."

Sonny sighed inwardly. She hated being the immature one in their relationship when they had an argument. That was usually Chad's job. And he was damn good at it, too.

"You were supposed to call me when you got off the plane in Florida," she told him, a twinge of bitterness still in her voice. She could feel it fading though.

"I know. I'm sorry, sunshine. We got to Florida and it was nothing but business the second the plane touched down. I meant to call you after the first read through, but the entire cast went to the beach to see where we'd be filming and I lost my phone in the ocean."

Sonny raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Honest!" Chad exclaimed. "I was standing on the pier and Jonah and Adam were screwing around. They bumped into me and my phone fell out of my hands into the water. Call me if you don't think it's true."

A soft cry sounded from the baby monitor, preventing Sonny from coming up with a retort. She stepped aside and motioned for Chad to enter the house. She held up the monitor, saying, "I've got baby duties." She ascended the stairs, Chad hot on her heels.

Tristan was standing up in his crib, red-faced and grumpy, apparently done with his afternoon nap. He reached an arm out to Sonny as she entered the room, the other hand clinging desperately to the bars of his crib.

"Hey, bud," Sonny cooed softly, plucking him from the bed. She balanced him on her hip, wiping the tears off his chubby cheeks. He stared at Chad with wide eyes and an open mouth, wonder apparent on his face. "That's Uncle Chad," Sonny explained quietly. "Can you say hi?"

"Bye," Tristan said solemnly.

Both Sonny and Chad blinked at him, confused.

"Hi?" Chad said uncertainly.

"Bye," Tristan repeated.

"I think he's backwards," Sonny said. "Earlier, Drew said goodbye to him and he said, 'Hi.'" She shrugged one shoulder then placed the baby on the changing table, rummaging around for a fresh diaper.

Chad watched as Sonny changed the baby, impressed. "You're really good at this," he complimented her. "It's like your calling."

"Wow, Chad. Only you would know how to insult me and compliment me at the same time…" Sonny scowled.

"There was nothing insulting about that!"

Sonny scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna go to the park with me and Tristan?"

"When? Now?"

"No, Chad. In five million years. Yes, now!"

"You're mad," Chad stated, following Sonny out of the nursery and down the stairs. He stared around the halls and staircase. He'd never been upstairs in Andrew and Chelsea's house before, so he was curious. Family pictures had been hung on the buttery yellow walls. Pictures of Sonny and one of Chelsea's sister (Chad didn't remember her name) had been thrown in there, too. "Why are you mad?"

"Because that had to be _the_ most sexist comment I've ever heard come out of your mouth. If that's what you really believe, Chad, then you and I are going to have some problems," Sonny hissed, whirling around to face him once they reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked a lot less intimidating than usual with Tristan in her arms, but Chad still took a step back.

"What are you talking about?"

"Babies are my calling?" Sonny countered furiously.

"All I meant is you'd be a good mom one day! Christ!"

"Oh," Sonny murmured. "You could've phrased it better."

"Yeah, and you could've not exploded, but here we are."

The pair of actors stood there, glowering darkly at each other for a few moments until Sonny sighed and shook her head. "What's _wrong_ with us lately?" she asked.

"I'd say it's either miscommunication or a lack of regular communication," Chad said.

"Both probably."

"Yeah, maybe a bit."

"We should work on that. Can you hold Tristan while I get the stroller from the hall closet?"

Chad took Tristan from her apprehensively, holding the baby away from himself. Tristan's face began to contort and Chad could sense the tantrum coming on. "No! No, no, no! Don't cry!" he pled, still holding the baby an arm's length away.

"Chad."

"Huh?" he turned to see Sonny chuckling at him, a soft smile on her lips.

"You can't hold him like that. He's a baby. Hold him like one." She stepped forward and rearranged Chad's arms and hands so he was holding Tristan against his torso. Tristan automatically relaxed. "See? He's not gonna burst into flames if you touch him." Sonny stepped back and studied the unlikely pair for a second. "You look cute with a baby," she decided aloud before vanishing around the corner. She reappeared a few moments later with a stroller.

After a brief instant of confusion during which Chad didn't know how to pass Tristan back to Sonny so she could strap him into the stroller, they were headed to the park which, according to Sonny, was "just around the corner." In reality, Chad soon found out, it was around the corner, up a _very_ steep hill and across a busy street. But who was keeping track, right?

The first comment came as they were walking slowly down the shady sidewalk. Sonny had noticed a tiny, old woman was about to pass them going the opposite way, so she smiled brightly and put her hand up to wave. The woman took one look at Sonny, Chad, and the baby and muttered, "Whore," at the precise moment she and the brunette passed. Sonny stopped walking and stared over her shoulder at the old lady, shock reverberating through her body.

"What's wrong?" Chad asked, breaking off in the middle of his story about his first day of filming.

"I think that old lady just called me a whore," Sonny replied, still staring at said lady's retreating figure.

"Why?"

"Because she called me a whore!"

"No, I mean why'd she call you a… Ohhh."

The couple looked from each other to the baby-occupied stroller. Tristan was happily waving to a bird a few feet away, innocent to the conversation taking place above him.

"That explains it," Sonny said bitterly. "But it's still rude."

"Don't pay any attention to her, sunshine," Chad responded, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. "She's _one_ old lady. What else can this kid do, other than get his greetings mixed up?"

"He can walk…kinda."

"Show me," Chad said, navigating both Sonny and the stroller toward the grassy area in the center of the park.

"He just started walking," Sonny explained as she unloaded Tristan from the buggy, "so he can't go very far and he gets tired pretty fast." She sat down in the grass and Chad followed suit a few feet away. Tristan clung to his aunt for a moment, blinking uncertainly at Chad. "It's okay," Sonny encouraged him.

Chad watched in amazement as Tristan took a few tottering steps forward. In a minute or so, he had made his way across the short distance from Sonny to Chad and was clinging to the actor's shirt, looking as though he'd just surprised himself by walking. Which he actually might have.

"Good job, bud!" Sonny cheered, clapping her hands. Tristan giggled and hid his face in Chad's shirt. "I think he likes you."

"Aww! He's adorable!" a woman's voice said.

The pair looked up to see that a middle-aged couple had paused next to them. The woman was smiling from ear to ear, though her husband seemed less than pleased by the presence of the baby.

"Is he yours?" the woman asked Sonny.

"He's my nephew," Sonny replied.

"I thought you two looked too young to have a baby. I thought to myself, 'It's a shame I see so many teen moms at this park,' but look at you breaking the mold!"

"Um…thanks."

"Well, he is _precious_," the woman said before towing her unpleasant husband away.

"That was weird," Chad said as Tristan began walking back to Sonny.

"It wasn't weird, it was obnoxious," Sonny corrected him, annoyed. "What's so wrong with having a baby at nineteen? I mean, you're legally an adult. Better yet, why don't people ever ask if I'm the sitter? It's obvious I am."

Chad frowned slightly. "Not really."

"What?"

"He _does_ look like you a little bit. But that's probably because you and Andrew look so much alike. He's a cute kid, babe. I don't know why you're so offended."

Sonny sighed. "I don't know either. Maybe because of the fight I had with my mom."

"Maybe."

Tristan tottered between them one more time before tiring out and quickly falling asleep in Sonny's arms. Leaning against the tree she was sitting under and adjusting her nephew's position in her arms, Sonny studied Chad through half-lidded eyes.

"I haven't been treating you right, Chad," she said quietly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, moving to sit next to her under the tree.

Sonny worried her lower lip as she took a second to decide how to phrase what she wanted to say. Being frank seemed the way to go. "When I said no sex until we're in love," she stated bluntly as possible, "I was just looking for a way to make sure you wouldn't leave me."

"Sunshine-"

"Just hear me out," Sonny insisted, holding up a hand to silence him. "I felt that, if you got what you wanted right away, then you'd leave me like you left all those other girls and I couldn't stand the thought of that. It was stupid and insecure, and I take it back."

"No," Chad said resolutely.

"What? Chad-"

"_You_ listen to _me_ now," Chad told her earnestly. "I wanted a relationship with you and I got a relationship with you. Yeah, sex would be great, but you're not ready and I'm not gonna pressure you into making a decision."

"I'm not a virgin, Chad."

Chad froze, his mind going blank. "What? Who?" he choked out, hardly daring to believe what Sonny had just blurted out.

"You don't know him. He's not famous."

"That doesn't matter," Chad said loudly. "What's his name?"

"What are you gonna do? Goggle him?" Sonny chuckled.

"Maybe, maybe not."

Rolling her eyes, Sonny caved. "His name is Peter and he's dating Lucy now, actually. Not that it matters."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"It's a small town, Chad. The dating pool isn't exactly the largest."

"How long were you with him?" Chad was beginning to wonder why Sonny hadn't volunteered this information before. It wasn't like the topic of each other's pasts was completely absent from their relationship. Sonny knew of his slightly whorish past, and Chad had thought he'd known hers. 'Thought' being the key word.

"Almost a year. I dated him right before I moved out to Hollywood."

"Okay… So… Neither of us has made a relationship last an entire year and both of us have slept with other people," Chad said slowly. He was still struggling with trying to wrap his mind around Sonny and another guy. He didn't _want_ to wrap his mind around that! "Good to know."

"You're upset."

"What makes you say that?"

"Chad, I'm not an idiot." Sonny scrutinized Chad. His red face, the fact that he refused to meet her eyes… What he was wondering suddenly dawned on her. "You want to know if I thought he was good!" she exclaimed. She stood up and placed the sleeping baby in his stroller, preparing to leave the park.

"I didn't say that!" Chad said quickly.

"Oh, come _on_!"

"Fine! But only because I have a right to know if I'm better than him before we do it! It's only fair!"

"I guess you'll find out when the time comes, then. Won't you?" Sonny smirked and then set off down the sidewalk.

"Not cool, Sonny!"

As Chad and Sonny left the park with Tristan, a teenage boy turned to his girlfriend, triumph clear in his hazel eyes. "Do you see?" he said hotly. "That's what _we're_ going to look like in a few months if we go through with this celibacy thing!"

"Dean, they have a baby. They're obviously not abstaining from sexual relations," his girlfriend countered, her voice nasty.

"They were babysitting him. Open up your ears, woman!"

"What's your point?"

"My point is that I don't want to end up as whipped as that guy, Chastity!"

"That guy looked an awful lot like Chad Dylan Cooper. Chad Dylan Cooper isn't whipped. And we _are not_ consummating this relationship. Do you want to know why? Because you love me."

* * *

**July 11th**

**5:16 p.m.**

**Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House**

**Front Steps**

"Now what?" Chad asked as he and Sonny watched Tristan (now awake from his post-afternoon nap and trip to the park snooze) dig around in the flowerbeds next to the front steps.

"Now we wait for Andrew to come home for dinner between shifts at the station. Chelsea's picking up a party pizza from Benny's," Sonny replied. "I told her you're here so she figured she may as well spend the extra money. She's seen you and Andrew eat so she knows she and I won't stand a chance unless she brings home the biggest pizza she can find." She cast a teasing smile at her boyfriend.

"I don't eat _that_ much."

"It's cute that you think that."

Chad scoffed and looked back at Sonny's nephew, reaching out to stop Tristan from putting a chubby fistful of soil in his mouth. "Hey, little dude. Whatcha got there?" he asked, reaching out a hand. In response, Tristan emptied the contents of his hand into Chad's much larger one, a proud smile on his face. "Want a worm, sunshine?" Chad asked, sticking said annelid under Sonny's nose.

"That's disgusting, Chad."

"Tell that to your nephew. He was about to eat it."

"Get it away from me!" Sonny squealed as Chad brought it closer to her face. "I hate worms! They're slimy and cold and…ew." She shuddered.

"Hear that, kid?" Chad said to Tristan. "Your auntie says worms are 'ew.' Isn't she sophisticated?" He tossed the worm back into the dirt. It burrowed its way back underground.

"Des," Tristan said, reaching out to hug Sonny's leg. She picked him up and placed him in her lap, _tsk_ing when she saw the state of his hands.

"Your mommy isn't going to be happy when she sees you've been digging in the dirt, bud."

Chad elbowed Sonny gently in the side to catch her attention. He gestured toward a silver car that had just pulled up along the curb when she glanced over at him. "You know whose car that is?" he asked quietly.

"No idea," she responded, equally as quiet. Together, they watched as a dark-haired man stepped out of the car. He checked the house number with a piece of paper and began to walk up the front path.

"Excuse me, is Andrew here?" the man asked. He was dressed simply in jeans and a polo shirt. Sonny felt there was something familiar and welcoming about his appearance (only later would she realize that he looked like and older version of Drew), but at the same time something made her wary. She stood up, thankful when Chad followed suit and stepped in front of her the slightest bit.

"He's not here right now," Sonny told the man.

"I recognize you," he said, removing his sunglasses as though that would afford him a better look at her. "You're Sonny Munroe! My daughter Sophie is a _huge_ fan of your show. _So Weird_, right?"

"_So Random!_ Not weird," Sonny corrected him flatly.

He laughed and a chill swept over the comedienne's heart. "Of course! How could I forget?"

"Andrew's not home," Sonny repeated. "Is there something you need?"

"You don't recognize me? I suppose you wouldn't. You were only a few months old when I left… My name is Rick. Rick Munroe. I'm your dad."

Sonny swayed on the spot, tightening her grip on Tristan so she wouldn't drop him. Chad was next to her in an instant, gripping her by the waist to steady her. Suddenly, she didn't feel so well. An intense sensation of vertigo came over her and every sound on the street seemed to be amplified. She was saved a response when Andrew's car pulled into the driveway and he stepped out, still in uniform.

"Thank God," Chad muttered.

"Excuse me, sir!" Drew called out as he hurried toward the group, fueled by the sick look on his baby sister's face. "This is private property. You're trespassing." The man turned to face Drew and he scowled, hatred taking over his mind followed by the instinct to protect Sonny and Tristan.

"Andy? Andy Munroe?"

"It's Officer Munroe now, actually. I'm going to have to ask you to step off my property, sir," Drew told him through gritted teeth.

"You don't remember me?"

"How could I forget? You abandoned me, my kid sister, and my mom for some slut and your bastard kids," Drew spat, seeing fear flash in his father's eyes. "You think I'd forget that? I'm going to tell you one more time to get your ass _off my property_. And while you're at it, you leave my sister and my son alone."

"Andy, c'mon. You can't honestly-"

As his estranged father placed a hand on his arm, Drew grabbed the handcuffs that sat in his back pocket, moving so fast the man didn't have time to react. In seconds, he was cuffed and Drew had an unrelenting and ferocious grip on his arms.

"Rick Munroe, I'm placing you under arrest for trespassing on private property and assaulting an officer," he hissed, taking note of the cold happiness in Sonny's eyes and feeling proud of himself for the first time since Tristan was born. He had just finished reading his father the Miranda warning when there was a shocked female cry from behind him.

"Oh, my God! Andrew, what the hell is going on?" Chelsea hollered, slamming the door to her Jeep and running up.

"Alison, you're not really going to let him arrest me, are you?" Rick called to his daughter. "I'm your dad! That has to mean something to you!"

"As far as I'm concerned," Sonny said coldly, "I don't have a father. And as far as you're concerned, Sophie's your daughter. Why don't you ask her for help?"

"Family problems," Drew grunted to Chelsea, shoving his loudly protesting father in the back of the cruiser and taking off.

* * *

**July 11th**

**10:04 p.m.**

**Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House**

**Guest Bedroom**

Sonny snuggled closer to Chad's side, trying to block the day's most recent dramatic event from her mind. It was proving difficult though. She was being plagued by conflicting emotions and struggling to bring relaxation to the forefront.

"Feeling any better?" Chad asked in a hushed voice.

"Not really. I can't block it out, and I've never felt so emotionally drained in my life."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know how," Sonny confessed. "I think I need more time to process before I can even _think_ about talking it over. I just never actually expected him to show up."

"I remember you told me he left when you were a baby."

"Yep."

Sonny could feel herself dozing off as Chad ran his fingers through her hair, lulling her to sleep. She was on the fringes of dreamland when there was a soft knock at the door and Chelsea entered the room. "Your mom's on the phone," she told her sister-in-law quietly, holding out the house phone. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, that's okay," Sonny said, forcing a smile and taking the phone. "Hi, Mom."

"_How are you, sweetie?"_

"I feel dandy," she replied sarcastically.

"_Sonny…"_

"Right. Sorry."

"_Drew told me your dad showed up at the house today."_

"He's not my dad," Sonny snapped.

"_Like it or not, he __**is**__ your father."_

"Just because he shares some of the same DNA as me doesn't make him my dad. Drew clearly doesn't want him around either."

"_Your brother has his own way of doing things."_

"That doesn't make him wrong," Sonny came to her brother's defense.

"_And it doesn't make it right either,"_ Connie countered.

Sonny scowled, feeling another serious argument coming on. _God, I need to move out,_ she thought tiredly.

"_Sonny, when your father and I divorced after he left, the judge granted me sole custody of you and your brother. You've known that your whole life."_

"You only got sole custody because he wanted nothing to do with us!" Sonny exclaimed, peeved.

"_That as may be,"_ Connie said, sounding as though her patience with her daughter's outbursts was almost gone, _"but the judge ruled that he could try to contact you when you turned eighteen. Same with Andrew. You've known he could show up for over a year now. What Andrew did was rash-"_

"No! What Drew did was _right_! That man has no right to try to talk to us."

"Alison Munroe, he has _every_ right. He is your _father_, young lady."

"I don't have a father!" Sonny spat, angry tears spilling from her eyes. She vaguely felt Chelsea tug the phone from her hand and tell Connie to call back tomorrow, then launched herself into the older girl's arms once the phone was safely hung up.

"It's alright," Chelsea said soothingly, patting Sonny on the back as she rocked her. Upon hearing the door slam downstairs, though, she turned Sonny over to Chad and hurried down the stairs to find her husband uncapping a bottle of beer.

"O' Callahan booked him a flight back to Oregon and sent his rental car back to where it came from. Then he sent me home early," Drew intoned darkly. He took a deep drink from the bottle in his hand. "The charges didn't stick."

"I wish saying I'm sorry was enough," Chelsea replied, taking his hand.

"That bastard deserves life in prison for leaving my baby sister fatherless her whole life," Drew said, his voice cracking. He drank from the bottle again, trying to hide his watery eyes.

"She wasn't fatherless, hon. She had you there."

"Shit," he said quietly.

"Really," Chelsea told him earnestly. "She just fought with Connie again, and I think a lot of it had to do with what you did today. Sonny really loves you."

"I don't deserve half the credit that kid gives me. You know how fucked up I used to be."

"Maybe a long time ago," she admitted, "but you're the best person I know now, and that's all that counts."

Drew merely shook his head and remained silent, finishing off his beer.

"Chad Dylan Cooper is here. Did you notice that earlier?"

He snorted. "No, but I'm not surprised."

"I think he loves her."

"Don't say that!"

"It's true. You should _see_ the way he looks at her. And he's so sweet."

"He's bad news is what he is," Drew replied.

"You know Sonny would love you forever if you actually gave Chad a chance. Besides, you think every guy your sister knows is bad news."

"And I'm right. What sort of idiots wear cheese patterned pants?"

"Andrew, she works on a comedy show with other comedians. What'd you expect out of boys like Nico and Grady?" Chelsea said, amused.

"Not cheese pants," Drew mumbled.

* * *

**July 13th**

**Nico's Voicemail**

"Hey, Nico, this is Sonny. I was calling to see if I could talk to you and Grady at some point. Some stuff has been going on and I was wondering if you guys were still looking for a roommate to live in the third room of your apartment. I'm looking for a place and I thought I'd see if you guys would be open to letting me live with you for a while. I understand that you'll wanna talk to Grady about this, so get back to me whenever you want. I'll talk to you later."

* * *

**July 13th**

**Grady's Voicemail**

"Hey, dude. It's Nico. Where are ya? I've been callin' ya almost all day! I got a message from Sonny-girl. She wants to live with us. Lemme know what ya think."

* * *

**I. LOVE. THIS. CHAPTER.**

It's not because of anything special. Just that I now officially know that the story is going how I want it to. Hooray! Also, it was the longest chapter yet: over seven-thousand words.

I've already started work on the next chapter, and I have to say that I'm loving it, too. Grady and Nico are kind of coming to the forefront next chapter, and they're so much fun to write! I can also tell you that this wasn't the last you saw of Rick Munroe, either. -cue suspenseful music-

Mad props go out to **DrowningxInxSapphire** and **youveforgotten** for coming in first and second place respectively. DrowningxInxSapphire wrote me the line, "'Wow, Chad. Only you would know how to insult me and compliment me at the same time…' Sonny scowled." I have to admit, that line was a challenge for me at first because I had to come up with something that was both insulting and complimentary. In the end, I found that I could use it to tie into their miscommunications. Meanwhile, youveforgotten gave Sonny's dad a first name for me.

If any of you were wondering, **here are the answers to the challenge:**

Movie: _Mommie Dearest_

Band: Plain White T's

Book: _Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_

Contrary to popular belief, **_Twilight_ was definitely _not_ mentioned. **What _was_ mentioned was a book titled _Nightlight_, a _Twilight_ parody. It's real and I recommend checking it out if you're a _Twilight_ hater. While I don't _hate_ _Twilight_, per se, I do happen to find the writing terrible, the plot on the ridiculous and extremely flawed side, and the main character to be vapid and Mary Sue-ish. I appreciate the books for their entertainment value though, and also like to try finding grammatical errors and spelling mistakes (two things which _Nightlight_ mocks). _Nightlight_ is brilliant parody, and I urge you to check it out.

Also, **don't bash me for my attitude toward the _Twilight_ series. **The only reason I presented it in the first place was so I don't get yelled at for hating the books.

**You guys are the _greatest_ reviewers ever! I swear! We've officially reached one-hundred reviews and I would absolutely adore if you guys hit anywhere from one-ten to one-fifteen next chapter. You all know for a fact I don't hold chapters hostage, so even if you don't hit either of those numbers, I'll still be posting. Plus, how could I not finish a story I love?**

Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated beyond a doubt. C:

Love,

EmbracingRain

**P.S. There's a possibility there will be a third installment in this series… **The plot bunnies got rabid and bit me (also, I've got an incredible human muse. Let's call him…Gabe. I owe Gabe quite a lot), so I'm going over the idea of introducing a third story.


	8. Arc Two: Summer: Chapter Six

No long note up here today. There is one at the bottom, though, and I ask that you all _please_ read it. Other than that… Enjoy! C:

* * *

**Summary: **A break from filming scatters the friends across the globe. This temporary change brings about new relationship challenges for Sonny and Chad. And things get personal when somebody from the past returns unexpectedly.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc Two

Summer

Chapter Six

* * *

**July 18th**

**8:23 p.m.**

**Milwaukee, WI**

**Airport**

**Outside Security**

"I don't care how much you beg, sunshine, the next time you ask me to bond with your brother, I refuse to do it," Chad said as he and Sonny lingered in each other's arms outside airport security. As it turned out, it didn't matter if you were the star of America's hit teen drama, you still weren't allowed to bring your girlfriend to the gate to see you off. If she didn't have a ticket, she wasn't allowed past security. And it didn't matter if she was Sonny Munroe and you were Chad Dylan Cooper. Apparently protocol couldn't be broken.

"Why?" Sonny queried with a tilt of her head. The scent of Chad's freshly laundered shirt was comforting, the beat of his heart was calming, both working together to fight off her distress at seeing him leave. One week wasn't enough time to be with Chad. Especially when they'd had little time to themselves. If he wasn't at his hotel or memorizing lines, she was babysitting her nephew and he was making valiant attempts to help. Then, Chelsea had gotten it into her head that Drew and Chad should bond, further depleting the time Sonny got to spend with her boyfriend.

"He took me on a ride along!" Chad exclaimed incredulously.

Sonny scoffed. "That's nothing. Nothing ever happens in that town. It's not like it's a big city, Chad."

"Do you know how scary your brother is when you and Chelsea aren't around? _Damn_ scary. He almost arrested six guys last night because they looked at him funny!"

"Drew's just been stressed out ever since…yeah," Sonny defended her brother. Her stomach tied itself in knots as she thought back to the arrival of her long lost father a week back. The memory of it still made her sick, but at least the crying had stopped. Things with her mom, however, were far from pleasant. Sonny was starting to get anxious about when Nico would get back to her about that extra room.

Chad hugged Sonny tighter as she buried her face in his neck. The topic of Rick Munroe was still pretty much taboo for the Munroe siblings, and Chad knew even a slight mention toward the subject was enough to make Sonny upset - whether it was visible or not.

"Will you be okay?" he asked quietly. "Stupid question, I know, but I don't wanna leave unless you think you'll be okay."

"I'll be fine," Sonny replied, looking up at him with a smile that he could only describe as brave. "Besides, you have to leave. They can't finish filming the movie without you. I just wish you didn't have to go already, that's all."

"Are you gonna _miss_ me, Sonny Munroe?" Chad asked in fake shock.

"More than you'll miss me."

"Yeah, that's probably true," Chad agreed. Sonny gasped and smacked his arm. _Hard_. "Ow! I was _kidding_, sunshine!"

Sonny snorted. "You'll call, right?"

"Every day," Chad promised, pulling a brand-new cell phone out of his pocket and holding it up for her to see.

"You don't have to call _every_ day. Just whenever you have time. I know you'll be busy."

Chad grinned at her, but it quickly dissolved when he glanced at the time on his phone before it disappeared back into his pocket. "I hafta go, sunshine."

"Stay," Sonny demanded childishly, pulling him closer.

"I wish I could, babe. I don't like this any more than you do."

"One week isn't enough," Sonny whispered in his ear. "Is it crazy that I want you around all the time?"

Chad chuckled, taking a moment to breathe in the scent of her perfume and storing it in his memory. How was he supposed to go another three weeks without seeing her? Yeah, they pissed each other off sometimes and tended to bring out the worst in each other when they fought, but the good times were more than the bad. The good times were sweeter, too, more precious and tender.

"If it's crazy, then they'll have to commit both of us."

"You're cheesy," Sonny accused, looking up at him reproachfully.

"You started it," Chad teased her back before kissing her deeply. God, he was going to miss her! It had been hell when he'd gone to Florida for those few weeks to film his first part in the movie, and he and Sonny hadn't exactly been happy with each other at that point. He couldn't even imagine how much more difficult going to Italy for his second part in the movie was going to get.

"Chad," Sonny said, pulling away from his lips, "I was being serious."

"Sunshine-"

"I wasn't joking," she ploughed on, "when I said I want you around all the time. I was serious. I can't explain it properly, but I feel like… I don't know… I just _feel_."

Chad laughed, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "If you'd let me finish, you would know that I was about to say I was being serious, too. And," he took a deep breath before continuing, "I…feel, too."

Smiling and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, Sonny stepped away. "Go," she said, pointing him in the direction of security. Sonny watched as Chad passed through security, turned to wave at her, then disappeared around the corner in search of his gate. And she knew, as she watched him walk away, that when he came back, things wouldn't be the same.

They were going to be better.

* * *

**July 19th**

**11:33 a.m.**

**Andrew and Chelsea Munroe's House**

**Guest Bedroom**

Sonny awoke to an outrageously loud clap of thunder that shook the windows in their frames and Tristan's loud wails in the room next to hers as Chelsea tried to calm him. The comedienne had almost forgotten that her sister-in-law had the day off work today. They were supposed to take Tristan to the zoo, but Sonny knew that plan was out the window if the thunder indicated the terrible rainstorm she thought it did.

She groaned and rolled over, tugging the pile of blankets over her head and burying her face in the mound of fluffy pillows. She'd gone over to Lucy's last night after taking Chad to the airport and got back a little past three. Looking back, Sonny knew she should have just stayed the night, but things had been hopelessly bizarre. Lucy had become strangely obsessed with Sonny and Chad's relationship and even more so with Chad himself. She'd grilled Sonny relentlessly about him but hardly listened. Instead, she detailed to Sonny exactly who she thought Chad was; it seemed as though she had turned him into some sort of fairytale prince in her mind. And, despite the fact that Lucy would soon be turning twenty, she still had posters and pictures of Chad slathered all over her bedroom walls - the kind you pulled from magazines like _Tween Weekly_.

Sonny had tried to have fun, she really did, but her longtime friendship with Lucy had felt off. Not just because the fact that Lucy's idolization of Chad had culminated in obsession, but also because Sonny could feel herself drifting away from Lucy. She'd known this day was coming for a long while, the inevitability of moving out to Hollywood, but she was still a little sad about it.

Lucy's obsession with Chad _did_ soften the blow a little bit, though.

Still, Sonny hadn't left Lucy's house without remorse, though, knowing it was probably the last time she would ever see her friend outside of extremely rare and random run-ins.

It took the brunette actress to register that another thing that had woken her up was the buzzing of her phone under one of her pillows. She sat up and retrieved it. Upon glancing at the screen, she noticed she'd missed a call from Chad at seven-nineteen this morning and that there was a voicemail waiting for her. The automated voice told her she'd missed a message and announced it before Chad's voice finally fell through the speaker in a sleepy drawl.

"_Good afternoon, sunshine… Or…morning. It's two-something and I just got off my plane in Italy. It's already afternoon here and I've got a meeting with the director in about two hours, so I figured I'd call while I still had the chance."_ There was a long pause and Chad sighed deeply, the sound coming out fuzzy and huffy over the line. _"I miss you, babe. I'll call you next time I get a chance."_

After a click that Sonny could only assume was Chad hanging up the phone, the automated voice came back and started babbling. Sonny hung up on the voice and glanced at the date on her phone, wishing that, somehow, Chad's scenes would be done filming early and he could come back sooner.

* * *

**August 16th**

**11:15 a.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

Sonny was just getting ready to go over her lines for the new "Sicky Vicky" sketch when her phone started to ring. She tossed the script aside in exchange for her phone and answered it as she turned away from her mirror (practicing in front of a mirror helped her work on facial expressions).

"Hello?"

"_Hi, Sonny,"_ her mother said too sweetly.

Sonny cringed. She'd succeeded in avoiding talking to Connie more than necessary since she'd gotten back from Wisconsin, still worried about pushing her mom's buttons. The angry tension in their apartment was almost unbelievable.

"Hi, Mom," she replied warily. "What's up?"

"_I need you to do me a favor."_

"Alright," Sonny agreed, thinking Connie must have wanted her to pick up something from the grocery store after rehearsals. She pulled a blank piece of stationary and a pen out of her vanity drawer, ready to write down whatever the eldest Munroe requested. "What is it?"

"_I need you to talk to your father."_ Sonny's heart sank, but before she could respond, Connie continued. _"He and I have been in contact-"_ Sonny snorted. _There_ was a miracle if she'd ever heard one. _"-and I really do believe he's been trying, Sonny. At least give him a chance to have a part in your life,"_ her mother pled. _"What could it hurt?"_

Sonny sat there for a moment, shock, awe, and anger coursing through her veins. For a minute or two, she couldn't think of anything to say, the hypocrisy of what her mom was asking her to do stunning her into silence. If Rick Munroe had suddenly marched back into his ex-wife's life demanding to be let back in, Sonny truly doubted her mother would be open to that.

"_Sonny?"_ her mom asked tentatively.

"Hey, Mom," Sonny snapped, finally returning to reality and the conversation, "here's and idea: why don't _you_ give him another chance?" She hung up her phone and hurled it across the room with an irate scream, grateful when, instead of the phone hitting Tawni's door and breaking, someone blond reached out and caught it.

"Bad day?" Grady asked as he and Nico hesitantly entered the room, looking as though they'd turn tail and run at any sign of Sonny's temper be it big or small.

"My mom wants me to give my dad another chance," Sonny told them bitterly and they nodded in understanding, having heard the story from her over the phone. "Do you need something?" she asked after taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Well," Nico began, perching himself in a chair, "Grady and I were talkin' and-"

"We'd really like it if you came to live with us!" Grady interrupted his best friend eagerly, his face lit up with a grin.

Sonny gaped at them, almost not daring to believe it. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," Nico said warmly. "Grady just has one condition." He rolled his eyes with a shake of his hat-covered head.

"Yeah, sure," Sonny said. "What?"

"Um…you're not…gonna make me throw away my comic book collection, are you?" Grady asked, sounding embarrassed.

"Of course not. Why would I do that? I read comic books, too."

"_Fashionita_ doesn't count," Nico countered, amused. "It's girly."

"We can help you move in Friday after work," Grady promised. "Right now, we've gotta go rehearse for 'Dolphin Boy,' but we'll talk details over lunch. Y'know, rent…stuff like that."

Sonny smiled at them brightly. "Thanks, guys. You have no idea how much this means to me."

* * *

**August 18th**

**7:43 p.m.**

**Hollywood Apartments**

**Elevator**

Sonny hummed cheerfully to herself as she dug through her purse in search of her house keys. Friday night signaled the first night her much deserved freedom. She'd be splitting rent with Nico and Grady, and even though the amount sounded kind of steep, she knew it was cheaper than renting a place by herself. They'd be splitting any other bills and the cost of food, and she knew that, with three of them living in the apartment, they'd be able to handle the bills easily.

…Or so she hoped. She had no idea what Nico and Grady's spending habits were like.

Now her only problem was breaking the news to her mom. And Sonny was starting to suspect that the reason her mom was holding on so tight was because she was afraid of becoming an empty nester. Telling Connie that she would be moving in with two of her friends at the end of the week would _definitely _not be an easy task.

Still, she only had two days left, and then she was freedom bound. And, to top it off, Chad was officially back from Italy and he was going to take her to dinner when he finally got back on the right sleep schedule. Plus, rehearsals were going _fantastically_ and Tawni was in a great mood. Apparently three months in Morocco had done the blond drama queen some good. She was even being nice to Sonny for a change.

The elevator doors slid open and Sonny stepped out, keys finally in hand. She greeted Mrs. Henderson, the old lady down the hall, with a bright, "Hello!" as they passed. She continued to hum her cheerful tune as she unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The tune died on her lips as she wrenched her key out of the lock and looked up to see Rick Munroe sitting on the couch as Connie handed him a mug of coffee.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked rudely, slamming the door shut and crossing her arms over her chest, temper on the rise.

"I asked him here," Connie said hurriedly, coming over to place an arm around her daughter's shoulders. An arm that Sonny shrugged off with a sneer.

"Alison," Rick began, setting aside his mug and standing up. The look on Sonny's face made him think twice, however, and he immediately quieted.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Sonny snapped ferociously at her mom.

"Sonny, please just hear him out," her mom begged. "He's here to apologize and make amends."

"An apology?" Sonny snorted with a raised eyebrow. She turned to face the man by the couch. "You really think an _apology_ will fix the fact that you abandoned all of us?" Silence answered Sonny's snide question, and she stomped out of the room angrily. "Forget it," she muttered. She could hear her parents following her to her room but ignored them as she chucked her purse on her bed and dragged a small suitcase out of her closet.

"Sonny, what are you doing?" Connie questioned her daughter as Sonny threw clothes and toiletries into her suitcase.

"Moving in with Grady and Nico," she responded carelessly. "I was supposed to do it Friday night, anyway, so why not just speed up the process a little bit?" There was a heartbeat of shocked silence, and then Rick exploded.

"Like _hell_ you are!" he yelled. "I'm not allowing my daughter to live with a couple of boys!"

Sonny looked at him, unimpressed, as she zipped up her haphazardly packed suitcase and shoved past her parents to get to the door of her room. "Hey, Rick, you're _not_ my father," she bit out. "And, Mom, I'm nineteen. Quit trying to make my decisions for me. I told you I wanted nothing to do with him and you should've respected my wishes." She stared at both of them, daring either one to respond. When all they did was blink at her, dumbstruck, she stormed out of the apartment without looking back.

* * *

**August 18th**

**8:17 p.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Nico and Grady's Apartment**

"Man, we gotta get this place cleaned up before Sonny moves in," Nico told Grady as he removed _Super Mario Bros._ from the Nintendo in favor of _Duck Hunt_. The living room was scattered with comic books, video games, and movies. There was also a semi-empty pizza box sitting on top of the TV. Semi-empty because the crusts were still inside it.

"Why? She said she didn't care if we're messy," Grady said plausibly. He picked up the only NES Zapper and plugged it into the console. "Me first!"

"Didn't ya hear her say that one of the reasons she won't move in wit Chad is 'cause he's secretly messy? She says his place looks neat on the surface, but if ya look in the cabinets or his closet, the place is a disaster."

"So?"

"So I don't think she's gonna appreciate blatant messiness anymore'n she appreciates secret messiness."

"It'll be fine," Grady said as he aimed and shot. "She's not moving in 'til Friday. That means we don't have to clean up until Thursday night."

Nico shook his head but didn't bother with a response as there was a knock at the door. "I got it," he said, making sure not to trip over the stray pair of shoes laying in the middle of the floor on his way to the door. Most of the mess was Grady's anyway; Nico tried valiantly to keep his confined to his room and thought he did a rather good job of it. The comic books were Grady's, as were the shoes. They were both responsible for the games and movies. As for the pizza box…well, there'd just be a new one there in a few days anyway. The way Nico saw it, two-thirds of the disaster was Grady's; the other third was his own.

He opened the door to find a miserable-looking, rained on Sonny Munroe on the other side with a suitcase in tow. Nico gawked at her for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what she was doing there. It was only Wednesday and the apartment was still a disaster!

"It's not Friday," he finally said, causing Grady to forget his game and turn around in curiosity. Sonny's face fell even more and Nico automatically shook his head, reaching out to usher her through the door. "I didn't mean it like that, Sonny girl. I'm just…confused is all. I thought we agreed on Friday…"

"We did," Sonny said, stepping into the messy apartment. Grady automatically shoved some comic books and video games under the couch in a poor, hasty attempt to clean up a tiny bit, secret messiness be damned. "I was just wondering if maybe you guys would be willing to let me stay here until I move in. My mom decided to go ahead and have Rick come into town to try to get me to talk to him," she said it was like nothing, but both Grady and Nico knew there was more behind her careless words than she let on. They exchanged a glance and Grady gave a noncommittal jerk of his head as if to say it didn't matter to him either way.

"Absolutely," Nico told her with a smile. He shut the door and took her suitcase, placing it by the door. "That is, if ya don't mind sleepin' on the couch for a couple nights."

Sonny shrugged. "I suppose not." She cast both boys a heartfelt smile and Grady automatically felt ashamed about the disastrous state most of the apartment was in. Sonny Munroe was just one of those girls who could make you feel as though you'd done something wrong, even if all you'd done was be a little bit messy.

"We were gonna clean up tomorrow," Grady said, setting aside the Zapper and picking up a few stray DVDs from the couch. He placed the cases on a shelf in an order that Sonny couldn't understand. There seemed to be no sense to how the boys organized things.

"You don't have to clean up for me," Sonny responded, shrugging out of her coat and folding it neatly in her lap. She felt more than a little awkward.

"I wasn't gonna," Grady said with a slight, nervous chuckle, "until Nico said you didn't even wanna live with Chad because he hides his messiness."

Sonny quirked an eyebrow. "I don't care if you guys are sloppy. You're my friends. Chad's different. At least you guys don't try to hide it." She threw out a hand to stop Nico from picking up the shoes in the middle of the floor. "Seriously, you guys. Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"The main reason I didn't want to live with Chad is because we aren't ready to take that step," Sonny assured them. "Not because he's a little untidy. I'd just clean up after him anyway."

"Doesn't matter," Grady said, picking up the shoes since Sonny wouldn't let Nico. He chucked them into the coat closet then took Sonny's coat from her hands and hung it up.

"Yeah, we're not yo kids _or_ yo boyfriends," Nico added, fetching the nearly empty pizza box and heading towards the door. "Ya shouldn't have to pick up after us. Ima go take this to the trash." He vanished out the door, and Grady continued to clean up as Sonny watched on, feeling as though she should be helping. When she offered, though, Grady just shook his head, saying that there wasn't much she could do.

"How was Grant?" she finally found herself asking.

Grady snorted and shoved some video games into a pile that made about as much sense as the movies. "Terrible," he said shortly."

"Sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for? Grant's just a big, mean, frat-joining _jock_, and I'm not the kind of brother he thinks he deserves to have. It's no big deal."

"Grady," Sonny said softly, "nobody deserves to have family treat them like that."

"No offense, Sonny, but I think you're a lot worse off in the family department than me lately."

Sonny laughed bitterly and then said, "Wouldn't that kind of make me an expert then?" Grady had the grace to bow his head in apology.

"Now _I'm_ sorry."

"Don't be."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he offered.

"Not really."

"Okay then."

There was a minute or two of uncomfortable silence (long enough for Sonny to wonder just what was taking Nico so long with throwing that pizza box away), and then Grady's face lit up with a smile. He picked up the NES Zapper and held it out to Sonny.

"Wanna play _Duck Hunt_?"

"What's that?"

"Are you serious?" Grady exclaimed, gaping at her. Sonny shrugged indifferently. "Dude, get over here right now and learn how to play!" Sonny laughed and complied, knowing that moving in with Grady and Nico was the right decision. At least until she and Chad were ready.

* * *

**August 19th**

**1:29 a.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Nico and Grady's Apartment**

Nico tiptoed past the couch, moving with practiced ease across the darkened apartment. He held his breath and froze for a moment after hitting his knee against the corner of the wall, hoping that the sudden noise hadn't woken Sonny up. When there was no sign of stirring from the couch, he continued into the kitchen and eased open the refrigerator. The light clicked on as soon as the door opened, causing Nico to curse quietly and glance over his shoulder in the direction of the couch. When his eyes landed on a pajama clad Sonny sitting on the counter, he yelped and backed into the fridge, fright in his eyes. Sonny snorted and took a bite out of the cookie in her hand.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"What're ya doin' up?" Nico asked her, turning back to the fridge in search of something to eat.

"Thinking. Drew called a little while ago. Cookie?" she offered, holding out the box as Nico turned around.

"Sure." He flicked on the light and hopped up on the counter next to her, digging into the box and pulling out a handful of gingersnaps. "What'd he want?"

"Huh?"

"Drew. What'd he want?"

"Oh." Sonny nibbled on a cookie for a second before responding. "He wanted to tell me some stuff about Rick. Apparently he's in the middle of divorcing his wife and he's broke." Nico watched her shake her head and shove the rest of the cookie in her mouth out of the corner of his eye. "Figures."

"How'd Drew find out?"

"His cop buddy, Masterson, knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a couple of other guys who live in the same town in Oregon as Rick. It's…complicated."

"So he thinks…what? That your dad has some sort of ulterior motive in finding you guys?"

Sonny scowled deeply, looking at Nico with angry slits of eyes. "He's _not_ my dad; he has had absolutely _no_ part in my life. But yeah. Drew thinks Rick found us because he needs money. He probably figured his best bet at locating me was finding Drew first. Like if he made a good impression on Drew then I'd wanna see him."

"And if ya liked him, then ya'd wanna give him a loan," Nico said, following her thoughts.

"It's like a twisted version of that book. _If You Give a Mouse a Cookie_," Sonny said scathingly.

"It's lame of him," Nico agreed, grabbing another handful of cookies. "I'm sorry, Sonny girl."

Sonny chewed a cookie thoughtfully and then looked over at him. "Why is everyone always saying they're sorry?" she asked. "I don't get it. Is it just because he's a terrible person or…?"

Nico shrugged. "I guess that's the natural human reaction when we don't know what to say." He breathed a laugh and patted Sonny on the shoulder.

"Pity?"

"No, definitely not. More like…sympathy."

Sonny chuckled the tiniest bit and quirked a small smile. She set aside the box of cookies, swinging her feet through the air, being careful not to hit the cabinets with her heels. "It's just something I've gotta work through," she admitted.

"Ya should know that if Chad's ever in one of his moods, ya can always talk to me or Grady." He squeezed Sonny's hand before hopping off the counter to go back to bed. "Night, Sonny girl."

"Night, Nico."

* * *

**August 20th**

**5:57 p.m.**

**Hollywood Apartments**

**Connie Munroe's Apartment**

The apartment had been empty when Sonny arrived to finish packing with Grady and Nico in tow. It was the same yesterday, just without Grady and Nico. Sonny didn't know if her mom was working late or if she was just making sure she was out of the way when Sonny was around. Either way, she felt strangely like she was intruding somewhere she shouldn't be, despite the fact that she'd lived in the apartment for some time. There was an eerie feeling to the apartment when she was packing by herself, hence the reason she'd brought Nico and Grady to finish packing. Though they weren't really helping all that much. Aside from hauling her mattress, bed frame, desk, and dresser down to the moving van, they hadn't done all that much else to help.

Unless you counted balling up packing tape and throwing it at each other in between pretending to shoot one other with bubble wrap.

Still, they provided comic relief and noise, filling the silence that the otherwise empty rooms contained in the absence of her mother.

Laughing at the boys' rendition of a slow motion gunfight, Sonny hurried to answer her mooing phone with a brisk, "Hello?" She shoved a full box into the middle of the fight, causing Grady and Nico to start arguing over who got to tape it up.

"_Hey, sunshine!" _Chad's voice rang out over the line. Sonny automatically found herself grinning ear to ear. _"I'm on my way over."_

"What? Why?" Sonny asked, tossing a pair of shoes into yet another box. The room was basically empty, save for a few shoes and two floor lamps that were currently shedding light on the room. She'd gotten most of everything packed last night after rehearsals.

"_Remember I told you that I was gonna take you to dinner once I got back on the right sleep schedule? Well, I'm on the right schedule, so I figured we could go to that new French place. Y'know. Somewhere fancy. I got us reservations for eight, but I figured we could hang out before."_

Sonny's smile turned affectionate. "Aw! Chad, that's _incredibly_ sweet, but you really couldn't have picked a worse night."

"_What are you talking about? And what on God's green earth is that _noise_?" _Chad demanded, apparently hearing the ripping of tape over the line.

"Grady and Nico are taping up some boxes for me. I'm in the middle of moving." Sonny was seriously starting to regret not being able to properly talk to Chad on the phone over the past few days. This news was a total surprise to him, and she knew he'd feel as though he'd been ambushed with it. He'd known she'd called Nico a month prior to ask about the empty room in search of a temporary place to live, but he had no idea she was actually going to live with the boys. Sonny had been hoping to tell Chad in person, worried about how he would take the news otherwise.

"_Moving where?" _he asked, sounding alarmed.

"Into Nico and Grady's apartment."

There was a great deal of silence before Chad bit out, _"You and I are having a talk when I get there."_

"Chad," Sonny said quickly, lowering her voice and leaving the room for some privacy, "can we please just talk over dinner? _Please?_ This is just temporary. Only until I have time to find my own place. Don't freak out."

"_Who's freaking out? _I'm _not freaking out. Just because my girlfriend is moving in with a couple of guys doesn't mean I'm…y'know…'freaking out' as you put it."_

"Chad."

He groaned. _"Fine,"_ he conceded. _"We'll talk at dinner."_

"Thank you," Sonny sighed, feeling a little bit of relief. "And you're going to have to wait a while. We're getting ready to take the boxes to the moving van and then we're taking my stuff to their apartment. In fact," she said, watching as Nico and Grady each walked past with a box and a large grin, "it might just be easier if you meet us at their complex."

After giving Chad directions and an address, Sonny hung up and sent a quick text message to Tawni, asking her to find a dress - any dress - and offering to pay her back if she purchased one. Everything she owned that was suitable enough for dinner at a fancy restaurant was packed up and she simply didn't have the time to find something to wear. And, even if she did, she doubted it would be wrinkle-free.

Tucking her phone back into her pocket upon receiving confirmation from her castmate, Sonny retrieved one of the few remaining boxes from her room, glancing around sadly. She promised herself, as she walked out of the apartment and passed her two friends on the way to the elevator, that she would patch things up with her mother tomorrow or Sunday if she was afforded the chance.

* * *

**August 20th**

**6:51 p.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Nico, Grady, and Sonny's Apartment**

_Okay… Sonny could've picked worse guys to live with_, Chad admitted grudgingly to himself as Grady produced the newest in a series of video games and inserted it into one of the many game consoles under the flat screen. Truth be told, Chad would really only be concerned about Nico if it weren't for Chloe. But there _was_ Chloe, so Chad wasn't concerned. It was cocky of him to think so, but it was true. Of both male Randoms, Grady posed the least threat to Chad. As for Nico…he and Sonny shared some sort of weird bond and Chad wasn't quite sure what to make of it half the time. It was like Nico felt responsible for Sonny's wellbeing and took it upon himself to look after her when Chad wasn't around. And that didn't sit well with Chad, truthfully. After all, Sonny was _his_ girlfriend and she should've always been seeking him out whether he was there or not.

Still, Sonny had chosen him and that was what counted. Besides, Nico and Grady were decent guys. Geeky but decent.

There was a knock on the door and Grady hurried to answer it as Nico was too busy trying to locate the correct controllers in the entertainment center's drawer. Chad didn't know how Grady and Nico found anything. The entire apartment (or what he had seen of it, at least) looked as though a tornado had ripped through.

"Hey, Tawni."

"Sonny asked me to drop this off," came Tawni's brisk reply. A reply that caused Chad to stare at her over his shoulder as Nico handed him a controller. Had everyone known about Sonny's change in address but him?

"You can just put it in her room," Grady told her, looking at the garment bag in her hand with a confused expression on his face. "She's in the shower."

"No I'm not!"

And then, to Chad's immense astonishment, Sonny bounded out of the bathroom in _nothing but a towel_. Both Nico and Grady's jaws dropped, and Chad began to splutter, struggling to form comprehensive words.

"What are you…? Where…where are your _clothes_?" he demanded, lurching over the back of the couch to shield Sonny from the other boys' ogling.

"Here!" Tawni said cheerfully, brandishing the garment bag in Chad's face. She was certainly enjoying the spectacle and how thunderstruck the _Mackenzie Falls_ snob was.

"Jeez, Chad," Sonny said, grabbing Tawni's wrist and glancing at her boyfriend like he'd grown a second head. "Don't have a cow."

"_I_ will stop having a cow when _you_ don't walk around in front of those two without clothes on!" Chad retorted, hooking a thumb in the direction of Sonny's castmates.

"T-to be fair," Nico piped up, "this is the first time she's done it."

As Chad whipped around to glare at Nico, Sonny took the opportunity to escape to her new bedroom, Tawni in tow with a bright pink box and the garment bag in her hands. When the door slammed shut, Chad rolled his eyes and loosened his tie before flopping back down on the couch.

"If I catch either of you looking at her like that again, you're _dead_," he growled.

* * *

**August 20th**

**8:05 p.m.**

**La Nourriture Des Dieux Restaurant**

Sonny smiled placidly as the waiter prattled on about the restaurant's list of wines, his stuck up, whiny voice grating her ears. She and Chad exchanged glances and secret smiles as the waiter turned a page of the bound list that had been sitting on their table. The list seemed never ending, and whenever they thought the waiter was through reading, he just took a deep breath and continued on. Chad finally threw up a hand to silence the waiter who looked clearly affronted at being interrupted.

"Neither of us is twenty-one," Chad told the waiter with a somewhat apologetic smile. "I think we'll both be fine with Cokes. Unless you want something else, sunshine," he said, turning to Sonny who shook her head.

"Coke is fine."

The waiter slapped the wine menu to the table and looked at them with a sneer. "Would you like kiddie menus with that?" he asked sourly before stomping off in the direction of the kitchen.

"I think he's lovely," Sonny sniggered as Chad wove their fingers together. She felt somewhat self-conscious in the dress Tawni had picked out for her. It was kind of low-cut and a tad shorter than she was used to her dresses being, but her friend had assured her she'd be able to wear it well. And, as usual, Tawni was right. About the cut and the color - a deep purple that Sonny would have never dared to pick herself. But Chad had said she looked beautiful, and - noticing the dumbstruck look on his face - she'd known he was telling the truth.

"Perfectly charming," Chad agreed with a smirk. "I should ask him what side of the bed he woke up on this morning because I wanna wake up on that side of mine _every_ morning."

Sonny laughed but grew somber not long after. "Okay, Chad. Let's get the serious part of the evening out of the way so we can go back to having fun," she said with a sigh. "You're upset that I moved in with the boys."

"I'm not upset, necessarily," Chad said, wrinkling his nose as he tried to find the right phrasing. "It's that… Okay… Hmm… I thought that if you ever moved out of your mom's place to move in with someone else, that someone would be me. _Not_ Nico and Grady." He looked at her with a tilt of his head that she knew meant he didn't know how she would take this. Sonny squeezed his hand and then steeled her nerves.

"Maybe sometime in the future, Chad," she promised with a small smile. "I don't think our relationship is in the right place right now for us to be moving in together. We're not ready."

"I know that," Chad reassured her. "I'm just saying that I thought we'd be making plans to live together when you decided to move out of your mom's apartment. Why can't you move in with, like, Tawni until you get your own place?"

Sonny snorted indelicately. "Tawni and I can barely share a dressing room. I'm fairly certain an apartment would be worse. Especially since she uses her kitchen as an extension of her closet."

"Still…Nico and Grady?" Chad said, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"I think it'll be great," Sonny said brightly. "They're adapting surprisingly well."

* * *

**August 20th**

**8:26 p.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Nico, Grady, and Sonny's Apartment**

"Dude!" Grady exclaimed as he reentered Sonny's room where he and Nico were attempting to put her bed together so she wouldn't have to sleep on the couch again. It would be a nice gesture, they both thought. Until they realized they might not have all the tools necessary to put it together.

"What?" Nico grunted, attempting to hold up the footboard and find the screwdriver he needed. Grady handed it to him and took hold of the footboard before continuing.

"There are_ special lady products_ in the bathroom and _bras_ in the laundry. And what is this thing I found plugged into the wall?" He produced a small contraption and held it in front of Nico's face.

"That is an air freshener, man!" Nico said incredulously. "And it's ours!"

"Oh…" Grady said, setting the air freshener on top of one of the many boxes crowding Sonny's room, several of which she had already opened. "Dude, I don't know about this anymore. I like Sonny and all, she's a really cool girl, but…I feel like I can't be a dude with her living here."

"She's a girl, not an alien."

"Easy for you to say," Grady bemoaned. "You grew up with a sister; I grew up with a _Grant_."

"Just treat her like a person. It's no different than seein' her at the studio. 'Sides, it's not like she's makin' any major changes around here." Nico screwed the other side of the footboard into place then moved for the mattress. "Help me out with this one, man."

"Sure."

Together, the friends lifted the mattress onto the bed frame, then stepped back to admire their handiwork.

"I hope that doesn't collapse on her," Nico said thoughtfully, scooping the tools back into the box from whence they came. He looked back at the bare mattress. "We'll let her put the sheets on herself."

"Alright."

They ambled out of Sonny's room, Nico shutting the door as they went. He was putting the toolbox back in the hall closet when Grady let out a startled gasp and shouted, "You said she wasn't making any major changes!" in an accusatory manner.

"What are you on about?"

"She alphabetized our DVD collection!"

"She did _what_ now?" Nico exclaimed, hurrying over. Sure enough, the entire rack of movies had been put in alphabetical order.

"I don't know what's good and what's crap anymore!" Grady wailed, tossing a couple of cases over his shoulders, only adding to the mess on the floor. "And have you noticed something feels off-balance in this room? She moved something, but I can't figure out what."

Grady and Nico exchanged a glance then stared around the living room of the apartment, wondering what, if anything, Sonny had moved and when exactly she had moved it.

* * *

**August 21st**

**12:09 a.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Nico, Grady, and Sonny's Apartment**

Sonny sank against the apartment door with a blissful sigh, Nico and Grady's hastily scrawled note telling her that they'd gone out with Chloe and one of her friends crumpled and forgotten in her hand. Every second she spent with Chad was just another second she felt more herself, more complete, and more at home than she had since joining the cast of _So Random!_ It had taken them so long to get to where they were today. Countless arguments, a lot of denial, a year of fake dates, and some misunderstandings… If those things left Sonny standing there with anything, it was the knowledge that she had slowly fallen head over heels in love with Chad.

Really, it was quite simple. She didn't want to be without him for any period of time. She worried about his opinion on things, longing to take what he said into account. Most of all, Sonny knew she would do anything to see Chad happy. She wanted to strive to make him as happy as he made her, to make him feel as whole as she did when she was with him. Even if she simply wasn't ready to live with him, she did love him.

And she had to tell him right now.

When she wrenched open the door to go running after him, she was startled to find herself face to face with the very person she was in search of.

"I thought you left already."

"I've got something I want to say," Chad replied, sounding winded. "And I want you to listen to me."

"I…uh… Okay." Sonny felt her heart plummet at top speed to the pit of her stomach. Chad sounded a little intense and angry, and that worried her. She couldn't think of anything that would have caused him to suddenly change his mind about their relationship, but the idea of 'what if?' niggled at the back of her mind.

"You're perky," Chad said, and Sonny didn't know if he meant it as a good thing or not. "You're perky and you care…about everyone. You've got this giant personality, but there's so much more to you than people see. You've got a lot of problems, and I feel…completely lucky and honored to be the person you share them with.

"Most of my castmates hate you. You already know I think they're idiots for that, sunshine. But I want you to know that you make me feel like a better person and I love who I am when I'm with you. No matter what they say, I'm gonna be right here with you because you're everything I'm not." Chad paused, leaving Sonny hanging there wide-eyed, her heart hammering as it slowly climbed out of the pit of her stomach.

"I can't explain this the way I wanted to," he finally continued. "Christ, I've been going over this in my mind since June because I wanted to be absolutely sure of myself so I wouldn't end up breaking your heart."

"I love you, Chad," Sonny blurted out, a grin stretching across her face. A loud giggle slipped out of her mouth as he suddenly gathered her into his arms, whirling her in a circle. There was the vague knowledge that they'd broken a lamp when a loud shatter reached her ears.

"Honestly, I didn't expect you to say it first," Chad said with a laugh, setting Sonny back on the floor. "You had this look on your face like you might be sick or something. I love you too, sunshine."

Sonny pulled Chad close and kissed him sweetly, slowly letting the intensity build until she felt completely powerless, aware of nothing but his hands on her skin and the taste of his lips on hers. She reached behind her back to lock the door as Chad's fingers skimmed along the zipper of her dress, knowing well what he was asking and more than willing to comply.

"Let's go," she whispered, pulling away from his lips and tugging him in the direction of her room.

"Sonny-"

She kissed him again, effectively quieting him. "I made you a promise, Chad. You should know by now I'm a woman of my word."

* * *

**August 21st**

**10:27 a.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Nico, Grady, and Sonny's Apartment**

"Sonny in the bathroom?" Grady asked with a yawn as he stumbled out of his room. He'd never felt worse in his life. Despite the fact that Chloe wasn't what Chad called a 'true' member of the cast of _Mackenzie Falls_, she certainly liked to party like one on extremely rare occasions, and last night had been one of them. Grady hated the feeling of being hung over, but the memory of last night made it almost worth it. If luck was on his side, he'd actually landed himself a girlfriend. Or at least a date for next weekend.

"Guess so," Nico replied, tossing his best friend a bottle of pain killers.

"Hope she hurries up." Grady downed a couple of the capsules.

"Shouldn't be long. Shower just turned off a few minutes before you woke up."

"Good. I gotta pee like a racehorse."

"Did _not_ need to know that, man." Nico grimaced. "Any idea who broke that lamp out there?" He nodded toward the shards of clay that littered the living room floor topped by the now-dented lampshade.

"Nope," Grady replied, rubbing his temples. "I don't remember doing it, but just 'cause I don't remember it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't do it."

The doorknob on the bathroom door rattled momentarily and Grady turned around expectantly, muttering, "Thank you, baby Jesus," under his breath. But the person who emerged from the shared bathroom was not Sonny Munroe. It was Chad Dylan Cooper who took one look at the shocked, scandalized, and infuriated looks flickering across the faces of Sonny's two closest male friends and cursed loudly before hightailing it back to Sonny's room, fear evident in his bright blue eyes.

* * *

YOWZA!

This chapter (minus the note you're currently reading) was _exactly_ eight-thousand words long. EIGHT-FREAKIN'-THOUSAND! I** decided to present this chapter to you without anything having been removed from it in order to reward you guys for officially hitting _precisely_ one-hundred and eleven reviews last chapter. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: you guys are _the best!_ You're fantastic. And you're seriously the _greatest_ reviewers I've ever had.** C: Because of that, I've decided that **once you guys hit one-hundred and fifty reviews, I'm gonna do a double update for you, no strings attached. All it takes is hitting that magical number. I don't expect you guys to do it right now, but I'd adore seeing somewhere around one-twenty.**

Right now, **I need your guys' help.** I've got an unrelated _Sonny With a Chance_ story in the works. It's shorter than what I usually write when I do a chapter fic (by 'short,' I mean that it's eight chapters long, haha), and **it's terribly in need of a name. I've got three that I love, and I feel that any of them could work. Because I can't decide, I'm leaving it up to all of you to choose one for me. **Just tell me which one you think sounds the most interesting.

1. Logic

2. Little Hints

3. Bread Crumbs

The title with the most votes will become the title of my newest _Sonny_ story.

**As always, reviews are welcome and loved beyond a doubt! You guys are the greatest and I hope you keep on loving this story. C:**

-EmbracingRain

P.S. The name of the restaurant _should_ translate into "The Food of the Gods." If it doesn't, please forgive me. My first language is English and I speak some German and Spanish. I know _very_ little French. So if I've gotten the translation wrong, I'm very sorry. C:


	9. Interlude Two: Discussions

**Summary: **Interlude Two: "What else did you do today?" "I compared Chad to a Klondike Bar…"

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

**Special Dedication:** This chapter is for **Fan Fic Legend** for the awesome, touching review!

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Interlude Two

Discussions

* * *

**Nico, Grady, and Chad**

Chad slammed the car door shut and hit the lock button on the remote. The security system engaged with a loud squawk just as a drop of rain hit the actor's cheek. With a groan, he dashed toward the apartment building he'd parked outside of, praying it was the right one. Apartment complexes where all the buildings looked the same made him insanely glad his apartment was in a solitary building close to the studio. Despite being at Sonny's almost every day for the past couple of weeks, he still had a difficult time figuring out where exactly she lived now.

Unfortunately, his plans today didn't involve Sonny. Instead, they involved her two roommates. And Chad wasn't exactly sure how that was going to go. There were too many factors involved for him to know for sure.

Reaching the third and topmost floor of the building, Chad took note of the only apartment with a welcome mat and a pot of flowers next to the door and automatically knew he was in the right place. Sonny had placed both items there shortly after moving in with Nico and Grady, feeling that the apartment needed to feel more homey and welcoming to any and all visitors. Said actress was exiting her apartment as Chad started approaching it, and she turned to him with a surprised smile.

"Hi, sweetie!"

What Chad couldn't get over was that Sonny had never called him anything but his given name until love finally factored into their relationship. She chalked it up to an unwillingness to get too attached to him "just in case," but Chad still found it kind of funny. It was just one of her many quirks.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, kissing Chad's cheek. "We don't have plans until later."

"Nico and Grady wanted to hang out," Chad replied.

"And you agreed? Wow. I'm impressed!"

"They didn't tell you? I figured they would," he said, confused.

"No, but now the fact that they've been acting weird all morning kind of makes sense to me," Sonny told him with a laugh. "Good luck with them, then. They're not exactly themselves today. I have to go meet mom and Rick." She pulled a face as she said her father's name.

"You're going over to your mom's, right?"

"Yeah. Mom wanted to meet for brunch, but I really preferred that this wasn't public." Sonny sighed and shook her head. "I'm just lucky that the press hasn't got their hands on it yet. Could you imagine the carnage?"

"Just go in there and say what needs to be said in the nicest way it _can_ be said," Chad advised her. "You already patched things up with your mom once. You don't wanna do it again."

"That's the plan," Sonny said, heading for the stairs. "The door's unlocked, so you can just go in. Nico and Grady are playing some zombie apocalypse game so they probably wouldn't even answer the door." She waved goodbye and disappeared down the stairs.

Chad took a deep breath and entered the apartment to find the other two guys deeply absorbed in a video game like Sonny had just described. They both mumbled greetings to Chad when he said hello and sat down.

"So…am I here just to play video games all day or something?" he finally asked when no one had said anything for about five minutes.

"Nope," Nico said, pausing the game and tossing his controller to the coffee table. "We actually wanna talk to ya about somethin'."

"Talk? _Really?_" Chad asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"We think it's time the three of us had a talk with youse," Grady said in an accent that made him sound like a wannabe mob boss and caused Chad to choke back laughter while Nico rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Godfather," Chad said smartly. "Enlighten me."

"Who are youse callin' Godfather and why?"

Nico leaned forward in his seat, clapping his friend on the back. "You're doin' your godfather accent again, man, and you're _still_ terrible at it."

"Aw, man! Really?"

"Really," Chad deadpanned. He was unsure if Grady's disappointment was at his failure at the accent or that he didn't realize he was doing it. "Seriously, what do you guys want?"

Nico and Grady shared an uncomfortable look and both shrugged before Nico finally cleared his throat and spoke up.

"I'm just gonna get right to the point."

"Alright…"

"You've stayed here basically every night since Sonny moved in," Nico stated tentatively.

"And?"

"While that's all fine and dandy with you two, the two of us…we're not exactly comfortable with that arrangement. Sonny's like our sister, and havin' you stay the night is… Well, it's… It's just…"

"Weird," Grady finished. "The kind of weird that makes us wanna leave because we feel like we can't be here even though it's _our_ apartment."

"We really wanna leave, man, but we got nowhere to go," Nico added apologetically. "And ya've got clothes in Sonny girl's closet and stuff in the bathroom. For two people who claim they ain't ready to live together, ya sure are livin' together in our apartment."

"I am _not_ moving in here," Chad said definitively.

"Dude, you've got your own apartment but you've been _here_ twenty-four seven for the past two weeks," Grady responded.

"You don't like me being here."

"No, you bein' here is fine with us. It's whatcha do with Sonny girl when you're here that we don't like," Nico told him slowly.

"Yeah. It makes us wanna hit you. A lot."

Chad exhaled deeply and sat back in the chair he had claimed, scratching the back of his head as he thought over their words.

"I don't know what you expect me to do."

Nico groaned and rolled his eyes in a blatant display of exasperation.

"We are asking you kindly to…do it at your apartment instead of ours!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, we wanna at least maintain the illusion that the two of you aren't…y'know…"

"But you already know we are, so what's the difference?"

"The difference," Nico said as though he was speaking to a kindergartner, "is that we don't know for sure what you're doing over there, so we can pretend like you're not doing anything at all."

Chad wrinkled his nose, trying to follow their logic but finding himself unable to. Even though it didn't make sense to him, he shrugged and agreed anyway. When in doubt, it was always best to agree with the Randoms instead of argue; their arguments never made sense anyway and tended to go in circles. Grady muttered something that sounded like, "Thank you, God," then tossed Chad a third controller as Nico hit the "Resume Game" button on the video game. The three boys were ten minutes into slaughtering zombies before the consequences of the agreement finally dawned on Chad.

"Wait! Does that mean Sonny's gonna have things at my apartment?"

Nico snorted and Grady started to laugh.

"Probably," Grady said through his chuckles.

"But the way we see it, that's yo problem. Not ours," Nico finished.

* * *

**Sonny, Connie Munroe, and Rick Munroe**

Sonny straightened her shirt and fluffed her hair before knocking timidly on the door to her mom's apartment. She'd given Connie her copy of the key when she'd moved out, and, despite knowing where the spare was hidden, she preferred to knock rather than enter of her own volition. It made her feel less like an intruder in the apartment that she had once occupied.

The door swung open and Connie greeted her only daughter with a hug before ushering her inside. At first glance, the apartment looked the same, but Sonny could see the blank slots in the DVD rack where her movies had been and the empty hooks on the coat rack where she had hung her jackets. She knew that her room was still empty, too - Connie's silent promise that Sonny would always have a place at home should she give up on her independence and come back.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hey, Mom," Sonny replied quietly, kicking off her shoes and hanging her purse off of one of the empty hooks. "Where is he?"

"He'll be here any minute. Do you want something to eat? A snack maybe?" Connie asked, looking thoroughly confused as to what to do.

"I'm here to talk to Rick, Mom. Not to eat," Sonny said shortly. Upon seeing her mother's crestfallen face, though, she caved and offered up a small smile. "Maybe some pretzels if you've got any."

"Absolutely! Come on," Connie said. Her face brightened and she gestured for Sonny to follow her into the kitchen. Sonny did so, feeling like a total stranger in her mother's life. She felt rotten knowing that there were some things she and her mom would never be able to work out completely. Life had been easier before she realized she wanted her independence; those were the days where virtually everything could be worked out.

"That's a pretty necklace, honey," Connie told Sonny as she began rummaging through cabinets for a bag of pretzels. Sonny touched the pendant hanging around her neck with a soft smile. The large silver bird hadn't left her neck since Chad gave it to her almost a week ago. He spoiled her rotten, truth be told, and she was often left wondering what she could possibly purchase for him when he bought everything he wanted himself.

"Chad gave it to me," Sonny said quietly.

"'Gave' as in 'bought'?" Connie queried, moving on to another cabinet.

"Yep."

"Wow. How is he lately?"

"I love him, Mom," Sonny said abruptly instead of answering the question.

There was a distinct moment of silence after this announcement that caused Sonny to bite her lip, unsure if she should have told her mom before a serious discussion with Rick took place. When Connie turned back to her with a bag of pretzels, though, it was with a maternal smile that was tinged ever so slightly with sadness.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that one coming."

"He loves me, too, you know," Sonny said, accepting the bag and focusing on opening it rather than looking into her mother's face.

"Are you sure about that?"

Sonny nodded, nibbling on a pretzel stick.

"A year ago, all you could do was complain about him. You told me he was a terrible person and most days you couldn't stand him. Are you _positive_ he's the person you think he is?"

"He's kind of like…a Klondike Bar. There's an outer shell and ice cream in the middle. Chad's the ice cream and his media persona is the shell. Knowing who he really is depends on putting in the time to break past that shell. He became something he didn't want to be when he finally became famous with _Mackenzie Falls_ and the image stuck with him. Believe me when I say Chad isn't who the media claims him to be, or even who _he_ claims to be at first. In fact, I think who he claims to be has a lot to do with protecting himself from the harsh criticism of the media and all the fake people in Hollywood. It's like Grady using humor as a defense mechanism or Tawni's self-importance but…different."

Connie remained skeptical but didn't have time to argue because a knock at the door signaled the arrival of her ex-husband. She cast her daughter an encouraging smile, but Sonny just shook her head.

"I'm not making any promises, Mom. Frankly, I don't know why you're pushing this so hard. It's not like he's a stand up guy."

"Sonny, he's your father. You've been without him nineteen years; there's no reason for you to go your whole life without knowing him. He's trying really hard and I think it's only fair that you give him a chance."

The actress frowned. She found it hard to believe that her mom didn't know the real reason her ex was back. But then again, there was the possibility tat her mom had never given up hope over the past nineteen years that Rick Munroe still loved her despite the fact that he'd left her and their children for another woman, another family. It broke Sonny's heart to think of but explained why Connie had dated yet never found someone to settle down with. Hope and the fear of being abandoned again…

Maybe that was why she'd held on so hard when Sonny was trying to leave. She didn't want to be abandoned again (and, this time, alone), but Sonny had left anyway.

Dispelling such thoughts from her mind as trailed after her unsuspecting mother into the family room, Sonny returned to the matter at hand: Hearing out the man who had left her basically fatherless had it not been for Drew. The idea that she'd rather be anywhere but here flitted through her thoughts, and she fantasized briefly about her options. There was a wide range of them, from torture to happier things like being with Chad or her friends. Naturally, she preferred the more pleasant choices, but she pushed back the desire to shove past her mother and flee the building, an admirable feat she felt considering the circumstances.

She made herself uncomfortably comfortable on the couch as Rick Munroe stepped into the apartment. He declined his ex-wife's offer for something to drink and settled himself on a chair, the chair that had once been Drew's favorite and Sonny knew Rick would never be occupying if Connie knew why he was really there.

Connie gave a nervous laugh and sat down next to her only daughter on the couch. The other two occupants of the room turned to look at her expectantly. After a moment, she seemed to realize they expected her to speak first.

"I suppose we all know why we're here… Rick, you have something to say?"

Sonny turned to look at him, disdain flooding her brown eyes as she prepared for the sugary, pseudo-sorrowful speech that was about to assail her ears. There was no doubt it would be a good one. She'd inherited her acting abilities from somewhere and evidence proved it wasn't her mother who couldn't tell a lie to save her life.

"I made a mistake when I left," Rick said frankly after a sticky pause. "I already told your mom that, but I felt like you should know as well. Alison, I can't even _begin_ to express in words how much I regret that decision. Not getting to see you grow up or help you become the person you are today… Those are things I can never have. But I want to cultivate a relationship with you and be a part of your life. That's why I'm here."

Sonny gaped at him, filled with nothing but disbelief.

"You honestly expect me to _believe_ that?"

"Sonny Munroe!" her mother exclaimed in a reprimanding manner.

"That's not the reason why he's here!" Sonny exploded, turning to face her mother and pointing an accusatory finger at her father.

"Excuse me?" Rick said, sounding affronted.

"Did you really think that Drew wouldn't find out?" Sonny demanded, glaring at him. "Maybe you forgot what he does for a living, but he certainly has ways of finding out what's going on in your life and deducing what you want from all of us."

"Sonny-"

"No, Mom! Listen to me for once! He's not back because he feels sorry! He's back because his wife divorced him and he's broke! Why else would he track me down? I'm famous and fame equals money, doesn't it?" she said with a bitter laugh. She looked at Rick dourly, waiting for him to respond. When he didn't, Connie stood up, a look of deepest hurt flickering across her face. That look only served to cement Sonny's suspicions about her mother: She _had_ been hoping.

"Is that true, Rick?"

He didn't respond, just sat there in Drew's chair with his eyes riveted to the floor under his feet. There was anger in the way his thin lips twisted down into a frown and the way his eyes squinted up, forming a furrow between his eyebrows; he seemed to be gritting or grinding his teeth. No denial fell from his lips for a good five minutes.

"Get out of our lives," the elder Munroe girl finally said.

"What? Connie!"

Rick stood up at once, incredulity hovering behind the ire on his countenance.

"You didn't find it hard the first time," she bit out, wrenching open the door and staring him down. "It should be even easier this time. I want you out of the lives of my family."

"You believe her?"

"I've never had a reason not to believe my daughter," Connie defended Sonny coldly, "unlike you."

There was a hideously drawn out moment where nobody said anything, and then Rick stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door as he went. Connie buried her face in her hands.

"Mom…"

"I really thought he'd changed," Connie said, her voice choked with tears. "Part of me was hoping he'd come back and make everything better, but he came back and now everything's shot to hell."

It took Sonny everything she had not to break down herself as she hugged her mother and let her cry.

* * *

**Sonny and Nico**

Nico glanced up from his book, preparing for the worst as he heard a key turn in the lock. But Sonny entered the apartment alone and he relaxed. It seemed the awkwardness was at a standstill for tonight.

"Hey, Nico."

"Hi, Sonny girl," he replied, watching as she hung up her coat in the closet and stepped out of her sneakers. "Where's Chad?"

"He dropped me off," she told him as she passed by him into the kitchen. She opened the freezer and began to rummage around. "Ice cream?"

"Sure."

"Y'know, if Chad staying the night really bothered you and Grady so much, you could've told me."

Nico smiled guiltily as he took one of the spoons she was holding.

"I guess ya guys talked about that, huh?"

"Sure did," Sonny said. She took the lid off the carton of ice cream and dug in, looking at him expectantly, obviously awaiting an answer.

"It was awkward enough talkin' to Chad about it and he's a guy," Nico finally explained after a few spoonfuls of the frozen dessert. Eating straight out of the carton made him feel weird, like he was turning into one of Sonny's girl friends. "I think if we'd talked to you about it, Grady's head woulda exploded."

Luckily, she laughed.

"I'm sorry we made you guys feel uncomfortable." Sonny smiled at him apologetically. "I promise he won't be staying over anymore."

"I guess none of us really thought about that kinda stuff when ya moved in," Nico said amicably. He stood up and fetched an ice cream scoop and a bowl from the kitchen, then took the tub from Sonny and plopped a few scoops into the bowl.

"What are you doing?" she asked, clearly amused.

"Eatin' out of the tub like that makes me feel like a girl."

They ate in companionable silence for a few more minutes before Sonny spoke up again, curiosity finally having gotten to her.

"Speaking of Grady… Where is he?"

"He's on a date wit one of Chloe's friends."

"What about you, then? I figured you'd be out with Chloe."

"Family birthday."

"Ah."

Nico set his now-empty bowl on the coffee table next to his abandoned book. He studied his friend as she stared into her tub of ice cream. She looked worn out, he decided.

"How were things wit yo mom today?"

Sonny sighed, tucking her feet under herself and saying, "Emotionally taxing."

"That bad?"

"I think she'll be okay eventually," Sonny said with a shrug. "I thought she knew the real reason he was back, but she just…didn't. And I think finding out broke her heart all over again. With him gone, though, I think things will be better with me and her."

"Well, at least there's that, right?" Nico said unhelpfully, patting her on the back. He didn't know what else to say, to be honest.

"True."

"What else did ya do today?"

She wrinkled up her nose, thinking.

"I compared Chad to a Klondike Bar…"

And, just like that, the mood in the three Randoms' apartment lifted, and the two who were there at that moment found themselves laughing and talking like there wasn't a care in the world.

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Dear Epically Awesome Readers,

In the past week or so that I took to write this interlude, you guys hit one-hundred and twenty-seven reviews! It. Was. PHENOMENAL. The response to last chapter was just…mind blowing and I'm tempted to keep writing long chapters like that one, haha. You all should know that **the fact that you hit one twenty-seven means you're only _twenty-three_ reviews away from the double update!** I guess I'd better get ready to execute that, shouldn't I? I promised it to you, and I _will_ deliver.

This interlude… I wasn't too happy with the Nico/Sonny exchange there at the end. It felt super heavy, but not in a good way. In a really awkward way. I did like the scene with Sonny's parents, though. Overall, I _did _like this interlude, so I suppose that's what counts, right?

Also, **_Bread Crumbs_ was the winning title for my new story. **Which I felt was good, because after I asked your opinion I automatically fell in love with that title. So **_Bread Crumbs_ is posted and awaiting your love. I'll have an update for that soon as well.**

Thank you for being so amazing! You guys are the best and I love all of you. And to all you ghost readers whom I've never heard from, I hope you're enjoying the story and I love you all, too. C:

Forever,

EmbracingRain

P.S. It'd be awesome, in my personal opinion, if you guys hit somewhere around one-forty reviews, but I won't push you. C:


	10. Arc Three: Autumn: Chapter Seven

WOW!

So I was expecting you guys to hit around one-hundred forty reviews or thereabouts and you hit one-hundred sixty! I was incredibly impressed by ya'll! And I know that I promised you guys a double update when you hit one-hundred fifty, so…

**Without (much) further ado, I, EmbracingRain, present to you, my faithful, deserving readers…**

**PART ONE OF THE DOUBLE UPDATE.**

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**Welcome to Arc Three! **Once again, we've got an **updated summary **to go with the **new storyline**. Speaking of the new storyline, **it should turn out to be pretty cute. When it's not fraught with miscommunication and stress that is…** There's gonna be some **fun moments with Nico, Sonny, and Grady **that will bring them closer together; and **Chad and Sonny will have some ups and downs that will be the make or break of their relationship…**especially as **Chad prepares to make a big step.**

Enjoy!

* * *

**Summary: **The stability of Chad and Sonny's relationship begins to waver as they face major decisions, and Chad worries about what will happen if Sonny leaves him behind.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc Three

Autumn

Chapter Seven

* * *

**September 27th**

**11:57 a.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

Chad barged into Sonny's dressing room sometime around noon, hungry and prepared to take Sonny to lunch in the commissary. He'd hardly seen Sonny around the studio or outside of it in the past three weeks. She'd just started online classes and their film and rehearsal schedules were completely at odds this month. Chad was kind of starting to feel like he didn't have a girlfriend at all. In fact, he knew he'd _really_ feel like he didn't have a girlfriend if he and Sonny weren't on the phone every night. He knew their schedules at the studio couldn't be helped, but Sonny had become totally absorbed in her classes. It was a little more than obnoxious.

But no sooner had he stepped into the room than someone blonde and decked out in a neon pink tracksuit tackled him back out the door.

"What the-?" Chad spluttered, catching his balance. He yanked his shirt back into place, angrily glaring at Tawni. "What the hell, Tawni!"

"You're not allowed in our dressing room today," Tawni said with a snaky smile. She set about filing her nails as she stood guard at the door.

"Says who?"

"Says Sonny."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Pft! Okay. Don't believe me," Tawni scoffed.

"I won't!" Chad declared loudly, moving to push the female blond out of his way.

"Eww! Don't _touch_ me!" she shrieked, slapping his hands off her arm.

The door flew open to reveal a very peeved Sonny. She stood there in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, one high heel clad foot tapping out an impatient beat against the floor. The look on her face gave Tawni cause to make an attempt at looking remorseful and Chad to cow under the angry heat of her gaze.

"What's going on out here?"

Tawni pointed a manicured finger at Chad, effectively pinning the blame on him. Chad pointed back in vain. The Blame Game had been actively played and won by one Tawni Hart. Chad was just the unsuspecting and unwilling victim. Sonny was now looking at him like he had killed someone.

"Can you _please_ take your fight elsewhere?" she asked tersely. "I don't have time for crap today. I've got more important things to do and not enough time to do them as it is."

"What about lunch?" Chad interjected before his girlfriend could slam the door in their faces. He asked rather rudely, but he couldn't take back the tone of his voice now…

"I don't have time for _food_!" Sonny said like it was the most obvious answer on the face of the planet. "I've got a timed test due in half an hour and I'm not even halfway done yet!" With that being said, she finally did what Chad had been dreading and slammed the door in a huffy rage.

"What the _hell_ was _that_?" Chad spluttered to no one in general.

"She's obsessed with her online classes," Tawni said in a conspiratorial whisper, even though she knew the other blond hadn't really been asking her for an explanation of Sonny's behavior. "She's totally slacking off on the show, too! She takes _all_ the smallest roles and yet she _never_ has her lines memorized."

Chad frowned deeply. "That doesn't sound like Sonny," he said skeptically as the two actors began walking away from the dressing room door.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! It's like she's been bitten by some…by some…educational _zombie_ or something!"

"Okay, you girls officially need to stop hanging out with Grady and Nico so much. I think all those zombie apocalypse games and movies they're obsessed with have gotten to you too. You're not even being rational!"

"Pfft! Yeah right!" Tawni scoffed. "I'm _perfectly_ rational, thank you very much."

"Look," Chad said as they entered the commissary and began their short wait in line for the very nearly inedible food, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for her…" Chad didn't quite know what word went with Sonny right now, so he just kind of waved his hands around in the air and made a face to symbolize her weird attitude.

"There better be." Tawni ignored his idiocy, too absorbed in herself to care. "Marshall's getting pretty mad. I'm not complaining that she's taken the smaller roles - that just means there's more of the good ones for _me_ - but she could at least memorize her lines. She's bringing down the rest of the cast with her."

The line moved up and each teen grabbed a tray before trying to find something to eat that wasn't spit in or burned to a crisp.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Chad asked almost rhetorically. "Stage an intervention? Because I highly doubt Sonny would appreciate all of us trying to stop her from getting an education and bettering herself. Remember how badly she freaked out when I accidentally said college is for ugly people?" He plucked both an apple and a banana from their respective baskets, shuddering at the remembrance of Sonny's harsh reprimand. Shaking his head at the thought, Chad paid for his meal and sat down at a table, hardly registering when Tawni joined him a moment later.

"What do we say then?" Tawni mused aloud, drumming her fingertips against the Formica tabletop and stirring her soup absentmindedly. "_Something_, obviously. But…what?"

"I don't know," Chad admitted. "But whatever we decide to say, we'd better say it soon. I haven't seen her in _weeks_."

Tawni snorted indelicately. "Like I care about that. I just want Marshall to quit yelling. All the stress from it is bad for my skin!"

It dawned on the two actors at that precise moment that they were sitting at the same table, eating, and commiserating, which was an odd situation for them to be in for neither liked the other. There was a full minute of strained, shocked silence as Chad and Tawni stared at each other, stunned azure eyes meeting stunned azure eyes.

"Why are we sitting together?" Tawni finally demanded. She sounded more than vaguely affronted.

"Hell if _I _know!" Chad said defensively.

Tawni glowered at him darkly. "Leave!"

"I was here first! _You_ leave!"

"It's not polite to make a lady surrender her seat after she's already sat, _Chad_."

"Lady?" Chad barked basely. "Don't make me laugh. And who said anything about _me_ being _polite_?"

They sat there, too angry to eat and too stubborn to move. The blond rivals were at a stalemate and neither was willing to throw in the towel. Instead, they each stood (or rather sat) their ground as their food grew cold until the arrival of Nico, Chloe, and Grady, all of whom did a comical double take upon seeing Chad and Tawni at the same table.

"What's goin' on here?" Nico asked suspiciously.

"Chad won't leave!" Tawni screeched.

"I was here _first_!" Chad bellowed in retaliation.

"Where's Sonny when you need her?" Grady commented to Chloe under his breath.

"Oh, God. I _know_, right?" Chloe said, echoing his sentiments exactly, right down to her tone of voice. "Seriously…"

"She's working on another timed test!" Chad and Tawni reported in the same irritated manner at the exact same time. They shot daggers at one another across the table with their eyes. "Would you _shut up_?" both demanded, once again in perfect sync.

"Another test?" Chloe piped up incredulously. "Isn't that, like, the third this week alone?"

Chad grumbled something unintelligible that the others took for an affirmative answer then began picking at the stem of his apple. The look on his face was formidable, and the way he was plucking at the apple's stem made him seem like he was hell-bent on revenge. Nobody dared to speak to him as the new arrivals joined him and Tawni at the table.

"I just don't get it," Nico said with a shake of his head. "I mean, I'm _proud_ of Sonny-girl and all for furtherin' her education, but she's just…not herself."

"I know what you mean," Grady said. "Yesterday I asked her if she wanted to run lines, and she said _no_. Usually she's all gung-ho and running off to get her script."

"All Marshall does is yell," Tawni put it, "because she's not making the effort."

"I haven't seen her really," Chloe said. "Maybe once. And she looked so frazzled that I didn't even bother talking to her."

"Don't even bother tryin'," Nico told her. "It's like talkin' to a brick wall. She's totally oblivious to what's goin' on around her."

"But it doesn't seem fair to any one of us to just let Sonny carry on like this."

Tawni nodded, dragging her spoon through what was left of her soup. "Even Chad said we should say something to her, didn't you?" But when she looked to Chad for an answer, he was gone, his sparse tray of food the only evidence that he had even been in the commissary at all.

* * *

**September 27th**

**12:27 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**So Random!**_** Set**

**Sonny and Tawni's Dressing Room**

Sonny happily clicked the 'done' button on her online test, turning it in just three minutes ahead of time. She cracked her knuckles and moved on to her next project: reading for her English class. She'd just clicked the link for the online version of the story when somebody yanked her laptop out of her hands.

"Hey!" Sonny looked up to see Chad towering over her, the laptop in his hands.

"We need to talk."

"Gimme back my computer, Chad," she said, standing up and holding out her hands.

"No," Chad said with a dark scowl.

"Yes!" Sonny lunged for the laptop, but Chad raised it above his head, high out of her reach. She jumped for it anyway. "Give it!"

"Sit down," Chad commanded. "We need to talk."

"I have to read a story for my English class!"

"No, you need a reality check."

"What are you even _talking_ about?" She jumped again, still failing to rescue her precious piece of technology from her boyfriend's grasp. Damn Chad for being so much taller than her!

"What the hell happened to you, Sonny?" Chad asked. "I haven't seen you in _weeks_. I don't even feel like I have a girlfriend anymore!"

"What-"

"And now I hear that you're slacking off on the show and that you've been getting in trouble with Marshall? Tawni says you never have your lines memorized. Chloe's afraid to talk to you! And Nico and Grady are just as frustrated with you as the rest of us!" Chad was vaguely aware that his voice had steadily been rising as he spoke and that Sonny was now gaping at him like a fish out of water. He plowed on.

"You're completely absorbed in these stupid online classes you're taking, Sonny! Before you started them, you told me you'd still find time for us. Well, guess what? We haven't seen each other for longer than, like, five minutes in three weeks. In between your busy schedule of taking tests, studying, not memorizing your scripts, and not seeing me you've completely blocked out not only me, but your friends as well!"

Sonny stared at him for a moment or two before saying, "You're completely blowing this out of proportion, Chad."

"Am I, Sonny? Am I _really_? Because I'm pretty sure if you talked to any one of your friends, they'd agree with me. Hell, I'm sure Marshall would even agree!" Chad set the laptop aside, but Sonny made no attempt to snatch it back.

"So, what? Are you breaking up with me or something?"

"Why the hell would I break up with you?" Chad bellowed, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm so fucking in _love_ with you I can't even see straight sometimes, Munroe! All I'm saying is that you need to remember what's important. I mean, if Tawni's complaining about you slacking off, then you _know_ it's bad. You've got your priorities so bass ackwards that I don't even know how you function!" He growled and kicked the leg of a side table to release some of his frustration.

"Those classes are important to me."

"And what about me, _So Random!_, and your friends? Huh? Aren't we important to you?"

"Well, yeah-"

"Then _act_ like it, damn it! I'm tired of not seeing you. I'm tired of having you be distracted every time I talk to you on the phone. I'm tired of having Tawni kick me out of the room whenever I stop by! Do you have _any_ idea how frustrated all of us are with you? You're not yourself!"

"I just want to do well in my classes!"

"And that's fantastic, but maybe you should take a break every now and then. The universe isn't going to explode because you get a B on a quiz or something!"

"Chad…"

"We all care about you, Sonny. We all want to see you do well," Chad told her quietly, making a valiant attempt at calming down. "But when you've got all of us sitting around a table, not eating lunch, and trying to think of what to say to you to bring you back to Earth, _that's_ when you know you've been neglecting us. Because I do _not_ eat lunch with Tawni Hart by _choice_."

"I-I'm sorry," Sonny said softly, sitting down on a chair. "I had no idea you guys were so upset."

"Yeah, well, I guess that just goes to show you that you should open your eyes every now and then."

"I guess I did get a little…caught up in my classes. I could do more work at home, spend more time memorizing my lines. I _have_ been slacking off with those… Marshall got _really_ mad the other day."

"And what about me?" Chad prompted.

Sonny wrinkled her nose. "I don't know if I wanna spend time with you," she teased. "You're kinda mean. And you yell and kick things."

Chad chuckled. "I'm sorry, Sunshine." He pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. She returned the hug with a gentle squeeze.

"I love you, Chad."

"I love you, too, Sunshine," he replied, kissing the crown of her head. "Sorry I yelled."

"It's alright. I kinda needed it."

"I'll say."

The door on Tawni's side of the room slammed open and Tawni herself marched into the room, followed closely by Grady, Nico, and Chloe. The three Randoms looked upset; Chloe just looked a little amused. She and Nico were holding hands.

"We need to talk to you," Tawni hissed, stomping her foot on the floor.

"I already did," Chad cut in, holding Sonny a little tighter.

"You did?"

"Yep. And Sonny promised to take more time for all of us and the show."

"You did?"

Sonny nodded and stepped away from Chad. "I did. I'm really sorry, you guys. I had no idea I was being so stupid. The classes just kind of…consumed me, I guess. But I'm done being so oblivious. I will definitely have my lines memorized in time for rehearsals and I promise not to be such a monster to you."

"Does this mean I have to split the big parts with you again?" Tawni whined.

"Yes."

"Aww, man! Can I still kick Chad out of the room whenever he comes by?"

"No."

"Ugh! You're just a fun sucker! You suck the fun out of life!" Tawni stomped over to her vanity and sat down in front of it, pouting.

"Are we cool?" Sonny asked, turning back to the other three.

Grady and Nico both grumbled their assent with reluctant smiles, and Chloe said, "Hey, I never really had a problem with you."

"Really? 'Cause Chad said you were afraid to talk to me."

"Well… Maybe a _little_. You just had this _look _on your face when I saw you, and I thought you might snap at me if I said anything, so…"

"I may have exaggerated a tiny bit…" Chad said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, you're good at that," Chloe said to him. "I mean, you _really_ tend to blow things out of proportion sometimes."

"I _told_ you," Sonny whispered, jabbing Chad in the side with her elbow affectionately. "Do you still want to run lines, Grady?"

"Sure. I'll meet you onstage in five minutes. I just gotta get my script." Grady hurried out of the room, Nico and Chloe following in his wake, still holding hands.

"They're cute together," Sonny said thoughtfully to Chad as the other couple left the room. "I think we started a revolution when we started going out. It's like we created peace between our shows!" She leaned up and gave him a leisurely kiss before snatching up her script and heading toward the door. "I'll see you later."

"You fun sucking, wet blanket!" Tawni hollered as the door shut.

Chad let out a low whistle. "You _seriously_ need to learn how to be nice to people, Blondie."

"Has it ever occurred to you somewhere in the shallow depths of your pea brain that you're just as blond as I am?" Tawni snapped. "Calling me that just makes you a hypocrite."

"Yeah, but I'm CDC. I'm allowed to be a filthy hypocrite and I'm impervious to name calling," Chad said, shrugging. He left the room with a smile on his face. He finally had his Sunshine back.

* * *

**September 28th**

**11:02 a.m.**

**Condor Studios**

**Marshall Pike's Office**

Sonny knocked on the open office door and poked her head into the room, balancing a platter of warm cookies on one hand. Marshall spun around in his chair, his lips turning down in a frown when he saw who was at his door.

"Sonny."

"Hi, Marshall," the brunette actress said meekly, stepping into the room. "I just wanted to bring these by." She set the tray of cookies on his desk and he looked from them to her in confusion.

"By any chance, do _they_ have your lines memorized?"

"No," Sonny said. "But I do. And I wanted to apologize to you for these past few weeks. I got really caught up in the online classes I'm taking and I wound up getting _really_ out of line. But Chad sat me down and talked to me. He helped me see reason and I'm ready to shoulder any of the consequences for my actions." She stood there, pleating the fabric of her shirt between her fingers nervously. Marshall stared at the cookies and rubbed the top of his balding head.

"Do you realize how close we were to Tawni Town?" he asked, looking up at Sonny with his watery eyes. "I don't want to live in Tawni Town, Sonny. I don't even want to get that close to it again. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir. Loud and clear. I need to buck up and start doing better on the show."

"That's right." Marshall sighed. "I'm not going to punish you, Sonny. There's no point."

"There isn't?" Sonny asked, confused.

"Of course not! Why would I make you miserable for trying to get a higher education? That's just absurd! You're doing good things for yourself and you should _keep_ doing them. But if you keep slacking off around here, I'm going to have to do something about it. We don't want Mr. Condor getting involved."

Both Sonny and Marshall gave an involuntary shudder at the thought.

"You say Chad talked to you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Keep dating that boy. Being with you has been fantastic for his people skills. We don't need another puppy-shoving incident."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me and Chad breaking up. We're very happy together," Sonny chirped reassuringly. She smiled at her boss brightly.

"Okay. Well…go get ready for rehearsals. You said you have your lines memorized."

"That I do."

"What about Tawni's?"

"Parts of them."

"Try memorizing those too," Marshall suggested. "She's been throwing off the whole dynamic this week. Worse than you were. I might need you two to trade some roles."

"Tawni won't be happy about that," Sonny said, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a giggle.

"Eh… Whatever keeps me away from Tawni Town."

Sonny laughed and walked out of the room, but turned back and poked her head in again after a few steps. "Thanks for understanding, Marshall. I promise I won't be slacking off anymore," she said before skipping off to the stage.

* * *

**October 3rd**

**8:33 a.m.**

**Baldwin Apartments**

**Chad's Apartment**

Chad ran his tongue over his perfectly straight teeth and then checked his smile in the bathroom mirror. Perfect, as always. _Everything _was always perfect in Chad's life. He tweaked his hair a bit and then stepped back from the counter, something purple catching his eye as he did so. He picked the object up, examining it with wide blue eyes.

"Sonny's toothbrush," he mumbled, dropping it to the counter like he was five and it had cooties.

Attempting to shrug the moment off and telling himself it was _just_ a toothbrush so no harm could come from it, Chad headed for his closet in search of a shirt to wear to the studio. He was innocently flicking through his shirts (and talking to each of them in turn) when he stumbled across two sweaters and a dress. They were hanging there. Right in the middle of his shirts.

"Sonny's clothes," he muttered, whipping around.

There, in his hamper, were a few size small shirts and a pair of girls' jeans.

"Sonny's _dirty_ clothes!"

And next to the hamper…

"Three pairs of Sonny's shoes."

He toed each pair gently, jumping when he accidentally knocked over a high heel. Frightened, Chad grabbed a shirt at random and dashed out of his closet as he pulled it on. He wrenched open his bedroom door, taking note of Sonny's slippers by the bed and her perfume on the nightstand.

"Sonny!" he yelped when the open door found him face to face with his girlfriend. She was holding a spatula and smiling.

"Hey! I was just going to ask you how you like your eggs. I'm making us breakfast!" she said with a large smile. The smell of bacon and pancakes wafted into the room.

"Scrambled," Chad replied loudly, plucking the first word that came to mind out of his head. He then slammed the door in her face.

"O…kay…" He heard her respond. "By the way, your socks don't match."

Chad stared in terror around his room as Sonny's footsteps retreated toward the kitchen. Sonny's clean clothes, Sonny's dirty clothes, Sonny's shoes, Sonny's toothbrush, Sonny's slippers, Sonny's perfume…

Sonny was in the kitchen.

Sonny knew how to use a spatula.

Sonny was making _them_ breakfast.

_**It was starting.**_

* * *

**So, I thought I'd try for a little bit of humor there in that last section.** I figured this chapter needed it after Sonny and Chad's big argument. Chad strikes me as the kind of guy who would get freaked out about all of that stuff. I could totally see him hyperventilating about it.

Anyway!

**I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out! **I was out of town and I was _so_ not expecting to have to post the double update this time around. I was thinking that would come after this chapter. But you guys hit one-hundred sixty reviews, which was ten more than you needed for the double update and _twenty _more than I asked you guys to reach. So I've been working on cranking out this chapter and the next one. **I'll have the next one up soon. It's almost finished, but I've got a party to go to and then I need to edit the chapter. Hopefully it won't take me very long to post again. In the meantime, _please_ review! I love hearing from you guys!**

Love,

EmbracingRain


	11. Arc Three: Autumn: Chapter Eight

Hey, guys! Thanks for being so awesome! Now here's…

**PART TWO OF THE DOUBLE UPDATE.**

Enjoy!

* * *

**Summary: **The stability of Chad and Sonny's relationship begins to waver as they face major decisions and Chad worries about what will happen if Sonny leaves him behind.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own, you no sue. (Anything you recognize is not mine. Anything you _don't_ recognize probably is mine. Probably.)

* * *

_Four Seasons_

By EmbracingRain

* * *

Arc Three

Autumn

Chapter Eight

* * *

**October 21st**

**2:11 p.m.**

**Condor Studios**

_**Mackenzie Falls**_** Set**

**Chad's Dressing Room**

Chad stared blankly at the script in front of him, his hands fisted in his hair. He'd long ago given up on trying to memorize his lines and was instead stuck on the frightening fact that Sonny's stuff was all over his apartment. _All. Over._ It was like an invasion of girly products, girly shoes, girly clothes… Girly _everything_. And the entire place smelled like cookies twenty-four seven. Not because Sonny was baking cookies all the time or something, but because she had candles that _smelled_ like cookies and she'd brought them over, too. There was a purple "throw" on his couch and Sonny's pajamas were in his dresser drawer. She made breakfast when she stayed over. She knew and befriended all the neighbors Chad professed to hate, telling him they were all very nice people.

Chad loved Sonny more than anyone from _Mackenzie Falls_ should love someone from _So Random!_, but he didn't understand why she couldn't keep her "throws" and cookie candles, clothes and cooking at _her_ apartment.

Well…maybe not the cooking. She was a phenomenal cook. But everything else belonged at her apartment!

Actually…he liked the cookie candles, too. Those could stay. And the clothes and shoes…that was only because Sonny had stayed over a few nights in a row. No harm there. Besides, Sonny often wore more than one pair of shoes in a day. He could forgive her the shoes. Especially because most of them looked painful to walk in.

The actor groaned, his face meeting the table.

Somehow, Chad Dylan Cooper had found himself in a _very_ committed relationship with a girl he was _very much_ head over heels in love with even though all traditions between their casts said he should have never fallen for her in the first place.

"It was supposed to be one fake date!" Chad bemoaned to himself. "I wasn't supposed to fall in love with her!"

Because all the relationships he'd had before he'd met Sonny dictated that Chad Dylan Cooper _did not_ fall in love. Chad Dylan Cooper was a one night stand kinda guy. Not the kind of guy who liked his girlfriend's cookie candles because they _smelled yummy_.

And the more nights Sonny stayed over at his apartment, the more of her things showed up there when he wasn't looking.

There were _chick flicks_ on his DVD rack.

She was keeping _nail polish_ in his medicine cabinet.

All of a sudden there were _plants_ and _knickknacks_.

And no matter how much Chad tried to care that girly things were invading his apartment, no matter how much he tried to make a big deal out of it in his mind, _he just didn't care._ Sure, he'd freaked out at first. He'd even slammed the bedroom door in her face after realizing what was happening. But now… He _liked_ all of her stuff mingling with his. He _missed_ her when she was at the place she shared with Nico and Grady. It was like his apartment was becoming _their_ apartment and he _liked_ playing house with her.

They were going grocery shopping soon because his fridge was almost empty.

_Grocery shopping._

Chad almost couldn't wrap his mind around the entire situation and he knew he'd be having a meltdown soon if he didn't. Had anyone told him that fateful December day almost two years ago that he would fall in love with Sonny Munroe, he would've laughed right in their face and called them stupid. If anyone told him that he would be making love to her (oh yes. Chad made love to her. It wasn't just sex with Sonny), he would've laughed at that, too, because Chad Dylan Cooper didn't make love. And a mention of grocery shopping with her probably would've made his head explode.

Sonny Munroe was turning him into Hollywood's Goodest Good Guy.

And "goodest" wasn't even a word!

The door to his dressing room opened and he felt more than heard Sonny walk in. He could do that now. It was like his sixth sense. His Sonny Sense. He knew where she was almost anytime someone asked without _actually_ knowing, he knew how she was feeling without seeing her. It was _creepy_.

"Hey, Chad."

"Mmmph."

Chad felt her hand rest on his back, heard her crouch down next to him.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Mmmeph."

"You don't _sound_ okay," she said skeptically. "In fact, you sound like you might be sick any second now."

"I'm fine," Chad said, lifting his head off the table and trying to think of a good lie. "These lines are just being a pain in the ass." Okay, so it wasn't the best…

Sonny snorted, a soft smile on her face. "_You're_ having trouble with lines? Yeah. I seriously doubt that," she said. She picked up the script from the table, but Chad snatched it back. "Hey!"

"Keep away from the script, short stuff," Chad commanded, holding it out of her reach. "This is for my eyes only."

"Oh, come on!"

"Check the blogs like everyone else," he teased her before tossing the script in a drawer and throwing his arm around her shoulders. "I thought we had somewhere we needed to be."

"Well, we don't _need_ to go to the grocery store right now. We could totally take some time to read the script through!"

"Sonny?"

"What?"

"No."

"Ugh! You're so mean to me! I can't believe you deprive me of _Mackenzie Falls_."

"Yeah, well," Chad said, shutting off the light as they exited the room, "call me stupid, but I don't want work coming between us. This relationship needs to stay as unrelated to work as possible. Besides, you like Mack too much for my taste."

* * *

**October 21st**

**3:46 p.m.**

**Hollywood, CA**

**A Grocery Store**

They were arguing about Oreos in the middle of the grocery store. Chad almost couldn't believe it. He could see the entire thing splashed across headlines on all the worthless tabloids tomorrow: "Chad Dylan Cooper and Girlfriend Argue in Grocery Store!" "Chad Dylan Cooper: Junk Food Aficionado!"

Sonny was insisting that buying six packs of Oreos was a waste of money. Chad was insisting otherwise. Those cookies were _never_ a waste of money. He always kept them stocked up in his cupboards.

"Chad, they are going to go bad before you even get to the third package!"

"No they won't!"

"Oh, so you're going to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day?"

"Maybe I will!" he said defiantly.

"Don't be stupid. You need healthy food. Oreos are _not_ healthy for you!"

Chad wrinkled his nose, studying the shelves of assorted cookies before him. "Fine. Four packages," he said."

"Two," Sonny insisted, folding her arms over her chest.

"Three. And that's as low as I'm going."

"Fine. Whatever. Eat three packages and watch all your teeth fall out of your head. See if I care!" Sonny muttered something that Chad didn't quite catch as she left the aisle with their overflowing grocery cart. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed only two packs of his precious cookies and followed her to the dairy section of the store.

"Where's the other one?" Sonny asked when he placed the cookies in the cart.

Chad shrugged. "I love you more than I love Oreos."

Sonny stared at him for a few seconds before grabbing a jug of milk and some butter then making for the cash registers. "You're lucky I love you," she told him. "Otherwise I might find some other guy who doesn't say cheesy things like that to me."

"You love the cheese," Chad said with a smile, hugging her from behind as they stood in line. "You love the cheese and you love me more because of it." He nipped her earlobe affectionately and she twisted away with a giggle.

"Chad! We're in _public_!"

"So?" he said, grabbing Sonny by the waist and pulling her back. She sighed as they locked eyes and shook her head. "What?"

"I'm just wondering what happened to the guy who used to make fun of me and mock my friends. Y'know, the guy who stuck a plunger to my butt and made me apologize to his _blender_?" Sonny pondered aloud.

"Oh, I know what happened to him," Chad assured her. "He fell in love with you."

The actress rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Can you say 'cheese'?" she said teasingly.

"Cheese," Chad deadpanned.

And then he kissed her.

Right in the check out line at the grocery store.

* * *

**October 22nd**

**7:03 a.m.**

**Baldwin Apartments**

**Chad's Apartment**

**Bedroom**

Chad was right about the tabloids. Only it wasn't the Oreo Argument the paparazzi covered. It was the kiss he'd planted on Sonny in the check out line. The one the cashier had so rudely interrupted like they were holding the line up or something. (They had been, but that was beside the point.)

The idiots at _Tween Weekly_ had an up close shot of the kiss plastered on their website. The other gossip rags had pictures as well, but _Tween Weekly_ was the only one capable of damaging his reputation in one fell swoop, so that was really the only one he cared about. Not that Chad thought Sonny would ruin his reputation. It was just an old habit. And old habits died hard.

He tossed his phone back to the nightstand and looked back at Sonny. She was fast asleep on her stomach with her head to the side. Pieces of her hair were stuck to her mouth and she was snoring quietly. Chad smiled as he watched her sleep. Even with morning breath and sex hair she was still beautiful. The covers were only pulled up to her hips and he started doodling random designs across her bare back. Chad loved Sonny's back for some strange reason. It had to be the most beautiful back he'd ever seen. He liked the scar on her left shoulder blade and how it stayed smooth and pink against the natural color of her skin. She said it was from an ice skating accident when she was little. He liked the light dusting of freckles across the back of her neck, too. They amused him.

Sonny stirred beneath Chad's fingertips and wrinkled her nose as his fingers brushed across her ribcage.

"That tickles," she mumbled, cracking open one big, brown eye.

"Sorry."

"S'okay. Feels kinda good."

Chad leaned over and kissed the scar on her shoulder blade and then pulled her close. She wrapped an arm around his stomach with a deep, contented sigh.

"I don' wanna go to work t'day," she confessed into his chest. "Le's just…stay here all day. Like this…"

Chad chuckled, tracing her spine. "It's Saturday, Sunshine. We don't have to go to work for two days."

"Good."

The couple was silent for a few minutes as Chad amused himself with drawing nonsensical designs across Sonny's back. The room was slowly brightening as the sun passed upward through the sky outside. Chad looked around the room, noting the frenzied way their clothes had been tossed last night. Sonny's bra was draped across the television and his shirt was hooked over the headboard. Their pants were in the doorway. "Frenzied" seemed almost too tame a word.

"I can't believe you stuck a plunger to my butt."

Chad's fingers froze as he stared down at her head. "What?" he asked.

"You stuck a plunger to my butt," Sonny repeated, bringing a hand up to point at the offended object.

"Oh." The blond shrugged. "In my defense, it was only 'cause I liked you so much."

"Well you sure had a funny way of showing it." She wriggled closer and hooked one of her legs over his. "I'm hungry."

"What are you hungry for?"

"Oreos."

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

"I'm sorry, but weren't you the one lecturing me in the middle of the grocery store yesterday about how Oreos are 'unhealthy'?"

"Hey, I can do unhealthy. Even for breakfast."

Chad rolled his eyes and then got out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm making pancakes," he told her pragmatically.

"With chocolate chips?"

"If you want."

"Okay. Good. Those sound better than your stupid cookies."

Laughing, Chad bent over and kissed her cheek. " God knows I love you, Sonny Munroe," he told her quietly before leaving the room.

* * *

**October 23rd**

**3:03 p.m.**

**Kimball Acres Apartments**

**Grady, Nico, and Sonny's Apartment**

**Living Room**

Sonny hummed tunelessly to herself as she flipped through the newspaper, searching for the section she wanted. She pulled it from the other pages with a little, "Aha!" as she discovered it. She fished a marker out of her purse and began to read through the section, the cap of the writing tool between her teeth.

The door to the apartment opened a minute or two later, accompanied by the sound of Grady and Nico's laughter. Sonny looked up with a smile and a wave as Nico shut the door.

"Hi, guys!"

"Well, well. Look who's home," Grady said boisterously. "Long time, no see, Miss Munroe!"

"Yeah," Nico said, dragging the syllable out as he headed for the kitchen. "How was yo visit to Chad Land?"

Sonny laughed. "Fine."

"Watcha readin'?" Grady asked, flopping down next to her on the couch. "The _newspaper_? Yeesh!"

"I was just looking through the apartment listings," Sonny told them, circling an ad for an apartment complex that looked promising. She heard the refrigerator door shut and saw Grady's mouth drop open out of the corner of her eye. She glanced up from her paper and looked from dumbstruck boy to dumbstruck boy, confusion written clearly across her face. "What?" she asked innocently.

"Yo doin' _what_ now?" Nico demanded, setting his drink on the counter and moving back into the living room.

"What did we do?" Grady questioned, looking hurt.

"Whoa," Sonny said. She capped her marker and set both it and the newspaper aside before standing up. "What are _you_ guys talking about?"

"Is this 'cause we said we're uncomfortable with Chad sleeping here? 'Cause we can take that back if it is."

"Wait a second," Sonny said, holding up her hands. "You guys knew that me moving in here was temporary. I told you that I would move out as soon as I could get my own place. I still have boxes that aren't unpacked! What do you mean what am I doing?"

"Yo seriously gonna move out?" Nico said, moving into her line of sight. "I mean, me an' Grady…we thought ya liked livin' here wit us!"

"Well, I do," Sonny replied. "But c'mon. You guys don't want to live with me. I'm a girl!"

"No you're not," Grady told her. And then explained after seeing the look on Sonny's face: "I mean, not in _that_ sense. Y'know, the one where I _know_ you're a girl. But in a roommate sense. You're just Sonny. We don't see you as a girl roomie."

"Yeah, Sonny-girl. We like livin' wit ya. We don't want ya to move out," Nico agreed.

"You don't?" Sonny asked, moved by their words.

"No way! You're too much fun!"

"Yeah, we were just talkin' 'bout how there ain't anythin' to do when ya vanish off ta Chad's place for days at a time."

Sonny placed a hand over her heart, touched by the moment. "You guys…! That's, like, the sweetest thing you've ever said to me!"

"Will it make you stay?" Grady asked causing the comedienne to roll her eyes.

"Of course! I mean, had I known you guys liked living with me I wouldn't've even thought of looking for another place. I like living with you too!"

"You're not gonna change your mind when Nico leaves the pizza box on top of the T.V. again, are you?"

Sonny smiled. "Nothing's gonna change my mind. I promise."

"Not even if - I don't know - Chad asks you to move in with him?" Nico tried to pose the question like it was the most absurd scenario in the world. To his surprise, Sonny actually laughed.

"You don't have to worry about that. Chad and I sat down, had a very grown up conversation, and decided that we're _far_ from ready to move in together. Our relationship just isn't there yet. Moving in together is at least another year down the road."

"Ya sure 'bout that?" Nico asked her, finally sitting down. He studied her with skeptical eyes. "I mean, you're over there an awful lot. This is the first time ya been home in 'bout a week."

"I am absolutely positive." Sonny picked up the paper from the coffee table and threw it away in the kitchen trash as she spoke. "Moving in with Chad is the last thing on my mind right now, just like moving in with me is the last thing on his. And if for some bizarre-o reason, he's sitting in his car on his way to see his parents and he's thinking to himself, 'Oh, hey! I think I'll move in with Sonny!' then _that_ would be some great situational irony, let me tell you."

Nico asked for the drink he'd left on the counter and Sonny tossed it to him, then she sat down on the couch next to Grady again. The three roommates sat in silence for a few minutes, Nico nursing his drink, Sonny fiddling with cap of her marker, and Grady staring blankly at the television.

"That _would_ be some pretty great irony," Grady finally said with a chuckle. "I mean, I could totally see Chad thinking that. Ironic things don't happen to him enough."

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about," Sonny said, giving Grady a playful shrug.

"And we will never understand what ya see in him, Sonny-girl," Nico told her.

* * *

**October 23rd**

**3:17 p.m.**

**Somewhere in California**

**Mr. and Mrs. Cooper's House**

Chad watched as his mom set about slicing up a freshly baked cake topped with frosting at least an inch thick. No matter what he said, she always insisted on feeding him absurd amounts of food when he was over for a visit. Between his mom's cooking and Sonny's as well, he could feel himself getting fat. He was definitely going to have to lay off the junk food for a few days after this visit. The blue-eyed actor glanced over at his father who was sitting at the kitchen table with a number of spheres and tins of paint.

"What's that you're working on?" he asked, not interested in the slightest. Physics had never seemed fascinating to him. Too much math and science.

"Scale model of the universe," his dad replied shortly and Chad snorted.

"What are you doing? Working on sixth graders' science projects now? I hope they're paying you for it."

Mr. Cooper rolled his eyes. "Shut up and eat your cake, Son."

Thanking his mother quietly for the slab of cake she set in front of him (the slice was almost as big as the plate itself!), Chad dug in, trying to ignore the way her eyes were boring into his head. She flicked some of her long red hair over her shoulder and began to tap her fingers against the table in an impatient beat. Chad slammed his fork to the table.

"Whaa?" he demanded around a mouthful of cake.

"You said you had important news, Chaddy Bear!" she replied.

"Let the kid eat his cake, Nellie," Mr. Cooper said placidly. "He didn't drive all the way here for you to pester him."

"He _told me_ it has to do with Sonny."

For the first time in his life, Chad witnessed his workaholic father actually look away from a project and then set down what it was he was working on. It was unnerving and so completely out of the blue that both his wife and his son stared at him with open mouths.

"Did you get her pregnant?"

Chad spluttered. "What? _No!_"

"Then what's the news?" his mom asked with wide eyes. She'd obviously been expecting the pregnancy thing too, though why she would take _that_ well, Chad had no idea. He'd always thought she was the type of mom to get seriously upset about something like that.

He sighed and dragged his fork through the frosting on his piece of cake, trying to put off the moment altogether. Right now, the soap actor was thoroughly wishing that he hadn't mentioned anything at all.

"I think I'm going to ask Sonny to move in with me tonight," he finally said, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush.

His parents' reactions were lost to him as he thought about the decision. It was a big step to be sure. But after a few days of freaking out and a few weeks of Sonny's stuff slowly accumulating in his apartment, Chad was ninety-nine percent sure he wanted to live with her. He figured it was the natural next step. True, they'd only been together just shy of a year, but other couples, normal, not famous couples, moved in together _way_ before that on a daily basis. And if there was a couple who could live together in complete happiness, Chad was positive that he and Sonny fit the bill.

* * *

**October 23rd**

**7:19 p.m.**

**Baldwin Apartments**

**Chad's Apartment**

**Living Room**

Sonny sniffed, wrinkling her nose in disgust as Chad let her into the apartment. Lurking there under the heavy scents of Chinese takeout was an even heavier scent of burned…_something_. She kicked off her shoes and followed him to the kitchen where the source of that God awful smell seemed to be. There, sitting on the counter in a pan that was now looking a little worse for wear, was a hunk of charred meat that was still smoking slightly. Chad turned bright pink and moved the ruined thing out of her line of sight, causing her to smile.

"Chad?"

"Yeah?" he asked gruffly.

"Did you make me dinner?"

"Well… I _tried_," Chad confessed, turning to the little boxes of food scattered across his counters and beginning to open them up. "But then I burned everything so I had to go get Chinese."

Sonny grinned and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek. "You're absolutely adorable."

"It's the curse of being me," Chad said with a sigh of mock disgust.

"How are your parents?"

The actor shrugged and set to work putting some food on two plates. "Fine, I guess. My mom misses you. Every time I go over there she asks if you're coming with me next time."

"Is that a hint, Cooper?" Sonny teased.

"Nope. Just a fact." Chad handed her a plate and shooed her over to the couch, forgoing the dining room table. Chinese takeout did not scream, "Fancy table," to him. "How was your day with Nico and Grady?"

"Awesome!" Sonny gushed, tucking her legs under herself and digging into her food. "I was reading through the apartment section of the paper when they got home, right? And you know what they said to me?"

Chad shrugged, trying to look interested while biting back a grin and shoving food in his mouth. It was harder than it looked. Sonny was looking for her own place! And that meant she would be open to moving in with him.

…Wouldn't it?

"No idea."

"They told me they don't want me to move out!"

Chad froze, a forkful of chicken halfway to his mouth. He cleared his throat, trying to get his heart out of the pit of its stomach where it had fallen to at her words.

"Isn't that just the sweetest thing?" Sonny continued on, oblivious to the look on his face. "They said they like living with me and that there's nothing fun to do when I'm not home. So I threw that paper right in the trash and…"

As Sonny babbled on, Chad chewed his food and nodded along as she spoke, wondering if she'd be seriously upset if he killed her friends. Because now all his plans were out the window and it was _all_ Nico and Grady's fault! Chad speared another piece of chicken violently. Vengeance would _so_ be his.

* * *

Hey everyone!

So there was part two of your double update. I hope you liked it! And for those of you that reviewed between these two chapters: Thanks! You totally rocked my world!

**You guys have officially made this my third most reviewed story on the site and I honestly would not have kept going with this story if it weren't for all of you. Reading your reviews makes my day, especially when you guys quote my own writing at me. It's the coolest thing ever to know you like my story that much to actually do that.**

**For those of you who asked how I liked "Falling for the Falls":** I liked it a lot, but I can't decide which part I like better. Both had their strengths and weaknesses. However, I'm leaning toward the first part because it amused me more. If any of you want to discuss the episodes with me, PM me or mention something in your review so I don't have to leave any spoilers here in my note!

I'm working on the next chapter already, but if there's a delay in posting, I feel you guys should know that my time is currently consumed by the book I'm planning. It's a long, tedious process and I'm right in the middle of it so I don't have as much time as I usually do. **If you start to wonder where I am and when I'm updating, send me a message and remind me!**

**For those of you who want tips on writing your own stories: **Write what you know. Using your own life experiences when creating a story is a great place to start. Not to mention the fact that it makes your writing a million times stronger! There's also a bunch of sites that help in beginning a story. Just Google "story ideas" and go from there. Also, you should take the time to free write every day (thanks, Stephen King, for that idea! I _live_ by it!). Whether you're writing in a diary or writing a short story, free writing will get your creative juices flowing and writing will become easier over time. Also, there is _no such thing as writer's block._ There is always, always, ALWAYS something to write about!

Thanks, you guys, for being such amazing reviewers! You're honestly the coolest, best ones I've ever had on the site and I love each and every one of you!

Love,

EmbracingRain

P.S. Did you guys catch all my _SWAC_ references? There were quite a few of them. I believed I ref'd "Legend of Candy Face," "Falling for the Falls," and "With a Chance of Dating" (and also _Twelve Months_. It was kind of two references in one). If I referenced anymore, let me know. I lost track!

P.P.S. Oh, the situational irony! And now Chad's hell-bent on revenge! Oh no!


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